The Darkest Alliance
by Lord Lycaon
Summary: One year after the defeat of Ganondorf, Link is a famed hero. One year after the defeat of Yami, Amaterasu needs some excitement. When a darkness too powerful for either hero to overcome alone rears it head, they must join forces to stop the spread of chaos before even they succumb to the madness.
1. Chapter 1

Two legends...

Each of incredible renown and power... each of great power, courage, and wisdom...

Though different in appearance, they are equal in strength, equal in knowledge, and equal in heroism...

This is the tale of the day these two legends met...

And how they confronted the oncoming Armageddon...

-o-

Link lay in the grassy Hyrule field just outside of the south gate of Castle Town. The weather was perfect for lounging, evidenced by the fact that he was sound asleep. His mind was filled with thoughts of how he had saved Hyrule from the Twilight a year ago, and how he later finally asked Ilia to go out with him. He had been a little hesitant at first. They had been friends since childhood, and he didn't want to ruin that. But they had had a stable relationship for few months now.

"Link?" asked a gentle voice. He didn't budge. "Link?" the voice asked again, a little louder this time. Still, he made no reaction. "LINK!"

The young hero immediately shot up and instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword, which was usually strapped onto his back with his shield, but was now on the ground. He looked to see who had woken him up. It was none other than his girlfriend, Ilia.

"Hey, Ilia," he said as he scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "Sorry. I guess I dozed off there for a bit."

"It's okay, Link," Ilia replied. She was used to this. He could sleep just about anywhere. One of the perks of being a veteran adventurer, she supposed. "Just come on! We're going to be late!"

"Late for what?" Ilia rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's question. Another thing she had get used to: his forgetfulness.

"Don't you remember? Princess Zelda is to be officially coronated as Queen of Hyrule!" Link face-palmed himself for his own ignorance.

"Crap! I completely forgot!" he admitted, ashamed of himself. "Come on! Let's go!"

Link took Ilia's hand as he ran to the gate. He knew that Zelda probably wouldn't mind him being a little late, but he also knew that she would prefer it if one of her only friends would be there (because of her cold-shoulder personality, she tended to put people off a good bit). Besides, he had promised to be there, and he was always a man of his word.

-o-

Amaterasu sat calmly observing this year's Kamiki Festival. It had been about a year since she had finally vanquished her eternal nemesis, the Dark Lord Yami. She was glad that he was finally gone, but couldn't help but admit that things had gotten just a teensy bit boring. There were hardly ever any monsters to fight anymore, and the Satomi Canine Warriors wouldn't fight her unless Princess Fuse allowed it (which she never did). At least Issun still managed to keep things somewhat interesting, even though he often complained about how she tended to ignore him nowadays.

"Hey, Ammy!" shouted the said Poncle from behind her. She turned to see him hopping about excitedly. He was always like this around this time of year. "Come on! You're missing all the excitement! Susano is actually getting into a figh with Benkei, and it's getting intense!"

Amaterasu nodded in acknowledgement. She could at least watch Susano get his ass kicked by Benkei. Again. She padded over to Issun, who hopped up onto her head, as usual. The white wolf then continued down the path that led back down to the village. As she walked, however, she suddenly jerked her head to the right, causing Issun to nearly fall off of her lupine head.

"Hey! Watch it, furball! I nearly fell!" He looked at her, and his anger quickly turned into concern. "What's wrong, Ammy?" The divine she-wolf just kept staring off to the right. She then shook her head as if to sat that it was nothing. "Well, whatever! Let's go! I don't wanna miss Susano vs Benkei!"

She nodded and continued down the path. But she couldn't but think that it was in fact _something_ that haad distracted her.

-o-

In bleak, empty realm, two figures stood before each other. They both were sent here by their respective nemeses, and both craved revenge. One figure, a large, muscled man in black armor, had an evil, power-hungry look in his sinister yellow eyes. The other figure, an entity comprosed entirely of living shadows, floated before its new colleague.

They shared an equal level of dark, vile, and malevolent power. But that was all that they knew about each other. Beyond that, they were complete strangers. And so they began their introductions.

"I am Ganondorf," the first figure said in a deep, powerful baritone. "And I am the King of Evil."

"I am Yami," the shadow said in a raspy, sinister voice, like a harsh whisper. "And I am the Lord of Everlasting Darkness."

And with that, the most villainous alliance conceivable became reality.

-o-

This is the tale of two legends...

Legends who, when alone, are formidable...

Legends who, together, must stand against the darkness that threatens to swallow us all...


	2. Chapter 2

Link stood with his arms crossed, impatiently tapping his fingers on his arms. He knew Zelda invited him to her coronation, but he also knew that he couldn't stand long, boring ceremonies. The fact that he was up next to the royal throne didn't make it any better. It always amused him that he could fight giant monsters the size of Hyrule Castle, but almost always lost his nerve in front of a crowd of perfectly ordinary people. So much for the great Triforce of Courage.

As Zelda knelt in front of the highest ranking priest in all of Hyrule, awaiting the official crowning, she couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous. She was well aware that she could lead her kingdom, but was afraid of one thing: what if she failed as abyssmally as she had when Zant invaded? If Hyrule were to to be attacked again, would she be able to protect her home?

She pushed those douubts out of her mind. Even if her kingdom was to be invaded this very day, the people of Hyrule had Link on their side now. The Hero of Legend was a truly devoted warrior, always ready to protect his home at any cost.

She heard the priest finish his prayer asking the gods to bless Hyrule's new queen. She felt the royal crown touch her head, pressing against her brunette locks. She stood and turned to the crowd, who unleashed a cheer of approval and hope. She gave a rare smile and waved to her people... then promptly fainted.

-o-

_Flames. Mile-high infernos engulfed her land. The sky was darkened by the smoke and ash that polluted its once pure blue color. A single figure stood amongst those flames. From it, she could hear whispers that spoke of a coming darkness that would inevitably destroy her kingdom and enslave her people._

_"The darkness can never be destroyed," the figure whispered to her. "You said it yourself one day: neither can exist without the other. As long as there is light, there must also be darkness."_

_Then she felt the flames licking at her feet. They swallowed her whole._

-o-

She felt as though someone was shaking her. She could people calling her name and calling her queen. Why did they call her queen? Oh, right. The coronation. She sat up and held her head in her hands. She was feeling dizzy, as though someone had been spinning her in circles.

"Zelda?" she heard Link's voice. She turned to see him with a concerned look. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine," she said as formally as she could. She sat and realized that she was in her bed. "How long was I out?"

"A few minutes. The guards got everybody out of the castle without causing a panic. Most of the civilians just think you passed out from either a cold or sheer excitement at being crowned queen. What happened?"

Zelda checked to see if there was anyone else in the room. When she was assured that there was no one else there, she gave Link a serious look. "I think Hyrule may be in danger."

-o-

Amaterasu watched as Susano and Benkei duked it out. She was amazed that Susano lasted as long as he did. He must have been training seriously for once just to beat his new rival.

"Wow!" Issun shouted excitedly. "This getting good! Look at pops go!"

Ammy nodded in agreement. She honestly had no idea Susano could be so vicious in a fight. She had seen him decapitate seven of Orochi's heads and split the last one clean in half, but that had only _after_ she had weakened the monster and then helped Susano gain divine power from the moon. Still, she had to admit that he was a fairly decent fighter.

Finally, Susano managed to knock Benkei onto his back, and pointed his wooden sword Tohenboku at the other warrior's neck. The warrior monk looked at Susano with a hint of admiration for finally having defeated him. Susano pulled his sword away and sheated it, then offered Benkei a hand. The two warriors then stood before each other, shaking hands, as the crowd that had gathered cheered.

"A good fight, my friend!" Benkei said with a friendly smile. "You finally beat me! I hope you know that this means that I'm going to be challenging you from now on until I beat you again!"

"You're welcome to try, monk," Susano said with a cocky smirk. "But now that I've beaten you, you'll need all the luck in the world and then some to beat the greatest warrior who ever lived!" They both shared a hearty laugh at that.

Amaterasu was glad that Susano had found someone other than her to spar with. His constant challenges had been getting on her nerves. She was about to bark and wag her tail happily, she was suddenly feeling dizzy. The world around her blurred, and she could feel her eyelids getting heavier.

"Ammy?" she could hear Issun calling her. "Hey, Ammy! What's wrong?"

Before she could any kind of response, she closed her eyes. The world went black.

-o-

_Nippon was in flames. Kamiki Village was burning to the ground. Sei-an City was in complete anarchy. Demons of all shapes and sizes, demons she had never seen before, were running rampant and slaughtering countless innocent people. She could a man sitting in the throne where Queen Himiko once sat before Ninetails killed her. The man wore an evil grin as the world was burning._

_"Good and evil are really all based on perspective," he said as he stood and walked closer ot her. "All that exists in this world is order and chaos. You are a messenger of order. We are soldiers of chaos. And the chaos will soon drive you all to madness."_

_His shadow extended toward her. When it reached her feet, the man laughed and said, "Accept my little... gift."_

_Darkness enveloped her._

-o-

When Amaterasu awoke, she felt groggy, as though she had woken up after a night of heavy drinking. She felt an unknown hand on her head. That was something she was fairly used to. People would often pet her, finding her rather adorable for wolf. She stood up and looked around. She could swear the people around her had somehow gotten shorter. And why did they look so shocked?

"A-Ammy?" she heard Issun say. She saw him standing on Susano's shoulder. "What happened to you?"

"What do you mean, Issun?" she asked. When she realized that she had spoken, she cupped her hands over her mouth. Wait, hands?

She down at her body. She was no longer a wolf. She was _human_.


	3. Chapter 3

"What? When? How?" Amaterasu was, in a word, freaking out. Reason 1: she was in a human form! It wasn't exactly something she was used to. Especially with these new jiggly things on her chest. Reason 2: she was completely naked! And in front of a crowd of other humans no less! She now knew why humans wore clothes all the time. Public nudity was just embarrassing!

"Whoa," Issun said intelligently. There was a little bit of blood trickling from his tiny nostrils (as with the other men in the crowd). "Ammy? Is that really you?" Amaterasu nodded, covering her chest and squeezing heer legs close together in a desperate attempt to hide her modesty. "Damn! Why didn't you go into this form before?"

"Because I couldn't you stupid little-!" This was followed by a _long_ string of curse words that Issun had never heard anyone even _use_ before. Ammy had a vocabulary so colorful, it made rainbows seem dull by comparison. "-and I hope you die choking on a man's-!"

"That's enough!" shouted the familiar voice of Mrs. Orange. She pushed her way through the crowd and faced them all. "Stop gawking and leave the poor girl alone!" The men in the crowd seemed to be a little hesitant. "That wasn't a request, you idiots!" With that, the crowd dispersed, leaving Ammy, Issun, and the elderly Mrs. Orange. The old woman went over to Amaterasu, who was now shivering from the cold night air. "Come with me, dear. We'll go to my house and get you some clothes."

"Thank you, ma'am," Amaterasu said with the utmost gratitude. She stood up and followed the old woman, with Issun following behind.

When they arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Orange, Amaterasu was immediately led to the bedroom, where Mrs. Orange went through the closet to find a set of clothes for the young (or young-looking, considering she was a goddess) woman. She soon reemerged from the closet, holding a red and white kimono up for Ammy to see.

"This is something I had when I younger," she explained. "It should fit you, dear." Amaterasu gratefully took the clothing and, with some help and instruction from the old woman, put on the kimono. It really did fit well. "Oh, it matches your hair, too! How cute!"

"What?" Amaterasu asked in some surprise. Mrs. Orange picked up a mirror on her make-up table and handed it to the former she-wolf. Ammy's hair really did match well with the kimono. It was mostly white, with a pair of vertical red lines running parallel through her hair. "Oh. I guess it does."

"Hey, Ammy! Can I come in now?" called Issun's voice. Amaterasu had asked him to wait outside until she was decent, which complied with, albeit rather reluctantly.

"Yes. Just don't jump into my clothes!" With that, Mrs. Orange opened the door for the Poncle, who hopped right on in.

"What happened anyway?" he asked, getting straight to the point like he usually did. "You just passed out, and then you were covered in a white light, and now you're human!"

"Well..." Ammy was about to explain what she had seen and heard in that dream of hers, but first politely asked Mrs. Orange to leave the room (she didn't want to possibly scare the older woman with the details of her dream). The elder replied and left the room, but not before giving Issun a warning look. When she was gone, Amaterasu continued. "I had a weird dream."

"A weird dream? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it wasn't really a dream, per se. It was more like... a vision." Issun gave her a questioning look with his head cocked to one side. "It's hard to explain, really. I saw Nippon in flames, with strange monsters killing innocent people. Then, I was in Queen Himiko's throne room. And there was this guy..." She shuddered at the memory of the evil man from her dream. "Just thinking about him sends chills down my spine. He said something about a 'gift.' The next thing I knew, I woke up looking like this." She looked down into her new right palm to show what she was talking about.

"Huh," Issun replied. "Maybe if we find this guy and take him down, you can turn back to normal!"

"I'm afraid it's miles more difficult than that, my little bouncing friend," said a shockingly familiar voice. They both turned to see the half-baked prophet himself, Waka, lying on the bed.

"What the heck?" Issun shouted. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Relax, Poncle," Waka said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm here with some pretty bad news, though."

"Can't be half as bad as your haircut," Issun said snidely. To this, Waka replied...

"Yami is back." There was a stunned silence in the room for several seconds, until...

"WHAT?" Amaterasu shouted at the top of her lungs. "But I destroyed that bastard a year ago! He's long dead!"

"Destroying is not necessarily the same thing as killing, ma cherie," Waka said seriously. "You destroyed his physical body, yes, but you neglected to eradicate his blackened, demonic soul."

"B-but," Ammy couldn't finish her sentence. She couldn'tr believe that her nemesis, the Lord of Everlasting Darkness, Yami, was still alive, even after she had exposed him to immeasurable levels of sunlight. "Dammit!" She slammed her fist into the nearest wall, leaving a hole her fist landed.

"It gets worse, I'm afraid," Waka continued grimly. "It would seem that he's made a deal with someone called the 'King of Evil,' a dark conquerer who was suppossedly vanquished by a young and powerful warrior. He was most likely the man you saw in your vision."

"King of Evil?" Issun parroted with slightly nervous tone. "That doesn't at all pleasant. You think maybe we can get the guy who beat him originally to help us?"

Waka sighed. "Your going to have to. Only by working together can he and Amaterasu stop this great evil. Do you understand what I'm saying, ma cherie?" He turned to Amaterasu with that last sentence, only to see her on the floor, sound asleep. A large bead of sweat formed on the backs of his and Issun's heads. "Nice to know that some things never change."

"Yeah," Issun agreed. He would likely have to ssummarize everything he had just learned from Waka for Ammy's sake.

-o-

Link was preparing to set out on the new quest given to him by Zelda. He sighed as he packed his things in Epona's saddlebags. The chestnut mare whinnied as he pulled himself up onto her back.

"All right, girl," he said to his horse. "Let's move!" he kicked Epona's sides, making the mare dash off. as he rode off to this strange land called "Nippon," his mind wandered back to what Zelda had told him.

Flashback

"Hyrule's in danger?" Link asked the newly crowned queen. Zelda nodded her confirmation. The green-clad hero sighed. "Well, that's just wonderful. Do you think maybe Ganondorf is somehow making a comeback?"

"I'm not sure," the young queen said with a shake of her head. "The figure I saw in my vision was just a shadowy mass. I couldn't tell who, or even _what_, it was. All I can really say is that it was pur evil." She put on a thoughtful look, trying to figure out what exactly it was that she saw. She got up from her bed, Link watching to make sure she didn't fall, and headed to the bookshelf that she recently had placed in her room. She scanned through the various titles until she found what she was looking for.

Link watched as Zelda pulled a book title "Ancient Legends from Distant Lands" fromt the shelf and started flipping through the pages. Curious, he asked, "Why do you have a book about foreign legends?" In response, the new Queen of Hyrule raised her hand and let the mark of the Triforce of Wisdom glow. "Oh. Right."

Zelda soon found what she was looking for. That shadowy figure had seemed somewhat familiar, but she hadn't been sure about what it was. Now that she had found the subject, she had wished that she had been wrong. "No."

"What?" Link asked, wondering what had her so spooked. Zelda simply held the book out to him. Though slightly confused by this, he took it and read the entry. He saw that this particular legend was from land to the east, known as Nippon. The entry read:

_Eien no Yaminoshihaisha (Lord of Everlasting Darkness):_

_Better known as the Dark Lord Yami, this being is the progenitor of all evil. It is darkness personified and evil incarnate. It seeks to completely envelope the world in permanent darkness by destroying the sun goddess, Amaterasu. Though other being from Nipponese legends are often portrayed as either human or animal, Yami has never been depicted as such. It is too inorganic. It is often shown in the form of a large, metal sphere, or a mass of living shadows. It is said to be so powerful, it can kill immortal gods._

Links eyes widened at the last sentence. This Yami was actually strong enough to kill gods? _Actual_ gods? How was that even possiible?

"I don't think I need to tell you what you need to do," Zelda said. "But I will. Link, you must go and find this 'Amaterasu,' ask her for her help, and destroy Yami. It shouldn't be too difficult for an expert explorer like you."

Link sighed at that. She just how to get him to do whatever she wanted. "All right, all right. I get the idea. I've got to find some chick named Amataku-"

"Amaterasu," Zelda corrected.

"-get her to help me find some evil overlord of darkness, and then save the world. What a walk in the park."

End Flashback

So now, he was riding off to Nippon, hoping to find this Amaterasu in order to stop Yami. He had already said his goodbyes to his friends, with Ilia making him promise to be careful, and was now ready to save the world. Again.

-o-

Ganondorf waited patiently at their agreed meeting place. Yami was about half an hour late, but that was a minor fault. When the Evil King sensed Yami's presence nearby, he chuckled. "I take it things went well, my friend?"

"Yes," Yami's shadow-body replied. "The girl you described has been given the message. And what of Amaterasu?"

"I gave her the warning," Ganondorf assured his colleague. "I was also kind enough to remember the little... _gift_ that you had me deliver. It will likely take time for her to become accustomed to her new body."

"Good," Yami said emotionlessly. "Soon, the only two being capable of defeating us shall be destroyed."

"And the darkness that we rule over," the King of Evil spoke with an evil grin. "Shall consume the entire world."


	4. Chapter 4

Link watched up at the clouds as Epona trotted through the forest that he now found them in. It had been a peaceful ride so far, and it was a beautiful day. It was hard for him to believe that he was once again on a quest to save the land of Hyrule, and maybe the world. He sighed loudly at the thought of adventure. It wasn't really something he was opposed to, but he wasn't really looking forward to it either.

He patted Epona's mane when she whinnied, letting her master know that she was getting tired. "Just a little further, girl," he assured her. "We'll stop and rest soon. You know I won't overwork you."

Epona whinnied again and gave the equine equivalent of a nod. It always amazed Link how the chestnut mare seemed to be able to understand him perfectly. They soon came upon a stream in the woods, and the young hero decided that it was time for that break. He dismounted Epona and led her closer to the stream, letting her drink as he checked his supplies. He made sure his bombs were secure and wouldn't explode when he didn't need them to, and checked all of his arrows to make sure that they were decently sharp and then checked the feathery ends were straight so that they wouldn't impede the arrows' speed and trajectory. It was a dull but necessary process.

His long ears twitched when they heard a sudden noise. He turned in the sound's direction, his hand on his sword's hilt, just in case there was a threat. He relaxed when he saw that it was just a rabbit. The small mammal dashed off at his sudden movement, as Link sighed at himself.

"Sheesh," he said out loud. Adventuring in unexplored areas always set him on edge. Possibly because of his ancestors' past adventures. "I really need to relax." He laid himself down on the ground, with his hands behind his head and his eyes toward the sky. He soon dozed off, feeling very comfortable in his grassy bed.

-o-

"Dammit!" Amaterasu complained as she gave painting with an actual paint brush another go. Painting with human hands was just so damn frustrating! She had always been used to using her tail to draw, but that was obviously a no-go now. "I can't even draw a decent circle with these things! Issun, help me out here, will you?"

Issun sighed in frustration. They had left Kamiki Village, and went beyond Nippon's borders, and were camping out in a small clearing at the moment. He was pretty much acting as Ammy's art teacher. It was a stressful job, to say the least.

"Look, Ammy," the tiny artist began simply. "Art is never perfect the first time around. It's like a person. You might not like the way it is at first, but given time, it could become your best friend. You just have to be patient."

"But what if I'm in a fight and can't use my Celestial Brush techniques?" she asked, but before her companion could answer, she suddenly panicked. "Oh, man! My Brush techniques! I always used them with my tail! I don't have any magical brushes on me! And would I fight to begin with? I have no idea how to use any of my Divine Instruments in this form! Crap! Where are those pieces of junk anyway!?"

Issun sighed yet again. Ever since becoming human, Ammy had been freaking about every little thing. It was kind of funny at first, but got annoying quickly. "Calm down, Ammy. Things'll get back to normal once we find this 'Hero of Twilight' guy. You'll see."

"I can only hope so!" the former she-wolf shouted with fire in her eyes. "When I get my hands on the guy who did this to me, you'd better believe that there's gonna be hell to pay!"

"It's not all bad, you know," Issun assured her. She gave him a strange look, as though he were crazy. "Your human form has an AWESOME rack!" Amaterasu just stared at the Poncle for several silent moments.

"I'm starting to see why human women hate guys like you," she deadpanned rather heartlessly.

Issun pouted for a few seconds, but soon sighed in defeat and said, "Come on, Ammy. We've still gotta find that hero guy." Amaterasu nodded and rolled up the painting scroll that Waka had given her to practice with. They then set off, continuing their search

-o-

Link was back on the road, riding Epona through a large, grassy field. It was pretty nice, really. A wide-open plain, the gentle breeze that made his hat soar, the sound odf Epona's hooves trotting across the ground. Nothing could ruin this moment.

Link immediately reached for his sword when he heard what sounded like a moonstrous roar. He quickly dismounted Epona and drew the Master Sword and his Hylian Shield, sinking into a battle stance. He soon discovered what had made the roar.

Approaching him was a large, four-legged monster that looked like a bizarre amalgamation between different animals and a giant teapot. Link raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar creature and said, "You're a unique case, aren't you?" The monster roared at him and charged, trying to claw him to death with its tiger-like paws. The green-clad hero blocked the blow and sliced at the creature's exposed stomach. Its stomach wasn't as exposed as he thought it was, however, as the Master Sword only scraped against the monster's iron-like hide. Link jumped away from the monster and gave it an analytical look.

"This might be a little tough," he thought out loud. The monster glared at him. It apparently was also a fairly intelligent combatant, because it didn't immediately attack him again. It instead watched him with a strategic eye, waiting for him to leave an opening. Link smirked at his new opponent. "This is gonna be interesting." He ran straight at the beast, releasing a battle cry and holding his blade in a ready-to-strike position.

The monster unleashed its own battle cry as it charged at the Hylian. Link quickly ducked under the beast's attack - another claw swipe - and swung his blade at its head. The monster just barely reacted in time, dodging most of the young hero's attack. But the Master Sword was still able to nick the beast, and was able to work its holy magic on it. The monster felt searing pain in its neck shrieked in agony. It held its paws over the tiny cut on its throat, hissing and gasping in pain. Before the monster could continue fighting, Link quickly finished the fight with a quick decapitation. The monster's head rolled on the ground as its body collapsed, both parts eventually exploding into a dark, purple-colored mist.

Seeing that the fight was definitely over, Link sheathed his sword and shield and headed to Epona, who pretty much hadn't even budged. That wasn't much of a surprise to him. The mare gotten used to the presence of monsters and other sources of evil pretty quickly. It would take more than a demonic teapot to frighten her.

Having taken care of business, he mounted his horse again and said, "Come on, Epona. We've still got a ways to go." The chestnut mare whinnied in response and headed forward. As he rode his mare through the field, he had to wonder: exactly what _was_ that thing that attacked him? It was unlike any other monster he had ever seen. He shook his head, pushing the thought out of his mind. He had more important things to worry about.

-o-

They had simply been walking (or in Issun's case, bouncing) throught the forest when Ammy literally tripped over her own feet. Again. She landed on the ground with a comical _thud_, but quickly sat up on her knees and screamed in frustration. "How the hell am I supposed to walk with only TWO feet!? How do humans live like this!?"

"Stop complaining, Ammy!" Issun shouted in an _extremely_ annoyed tone. "Geez! And I thought your silence was what annoyed me the most about you!"

"Oh, shut up!" Ammy shouted at him. "Do you have any idea what it's like to all of sudden be in a totally different form than what your used to!? Its way less fun than you might think!"

"I don't think it's fun at all!" Issun shot back at her. "Just stop whining about it and keep walking!"

Amaterasu pouted at the Poncle, but stood up and started walking. So far, being human sucked.


	5. Chapter 5

Yami watched patiently as Ganondorf worked on a spell that he had insisted on using in order to summon allies that could work to impede their enemies' progress. The King of Evil had said that this spell would create powerful warriors that are obedient shadow versions of the one that it is cast on. It had intrigued the Dark Lord, and so he had allowed his colleague to proceed.

"How much longer?" Yami asked emotionlessly.

"At least an hour," Ganondorf said with certainty as he continued working. "By that time, our new servants will be ready and awaiting our command."

"I see." Yami thought that they wouldn't need any assistance. With their powers combined, he and Ganondorf would easily be able to crush anyone who stood in their path. But the Evil King had made a valid argument: neither of them had their full power back yet. They would need time to regain their strength. The living shadow couldn't argue with that, so he agreed to Ganondorf's plan. Besides, he was interested in meeting these new "friends."

-o-

Link yawned as Epona trotted into another forest. It had been about a week since he had left home, and he was getting tired from travelling for so long. Nothing really happened after that teapot monster attacked. After that, he became a bit more cautious. But that was quickly getting dull. He almost fell asleep, but bolted upright when he heard a woman's voice.

"Dammit!" the voice shouted. He quickly steered Epona into the voice's direction. When he found the voice's owner, he dismounted and approached the woman's prone form. He jumped when she suddenly picked herself up with a look of frustration on her face. "Why did this have to happen to me? Why couldn't it've been someone else?" She then turned to face Link. "Just what the hell are you looking at, you oversized grasshopper!?"

"Oversized..." Link was utterly dunbfounded. He looked this strange young woman over. She looked about his age, and had wild yellow eyes. Her hair was white with a pair of red lines running parallel through it. She was wearing a weird, white and red dress-like outfit that he had never seen before. It had a V-neck design, revealing a good bit of cleavage from her... _very_ impressive bosom. He couldn't help but stare at that particular spot for several moments. He suddenly heard the girl scream "Pervert!" as he felt something hard hit his groin. He fell down down to his knees, holding his manhood and gasping in pain.

"If you ever want to have kids someday, don't stare at my chest like that!" she shouted angrily.

"C'mon, Ammy," said a high-pitched voice. Link looked and saw a tiny, bouncing... thing on the girl's left shoulder. "Give the guy a break! He looks like he travels a lot, so he probably hasn't seen a woman in a while."

Link groaned as he felt the pain in his private area slowly fade. He stood up and glared a the weird-haired girl. "You didn't have to knee me you know! You could've just snapped your fingers in front of my face instead of possibly making me impotent!" She slapped him.

"Don't talk about your junk like that in front of me, you asshole!" she shouted at him. He glared at her. This chick was _really_ pissing him off. In fact, he hadn't been this angry at anyone since his first few days travelling around Hyrule with Midna.

He sighed and mentally counted to ten. "Look, I don't want any trouble. I'm currently looking for someone. Some chick named Amaterasu. You know her?"

The girl's eyes widened at him. "You're looking for Amaterasu?" Link nodded. He was relieved that he had run into someone who could help him. The girl smirked at him then, making him wonder about this Amaterasu. "Well... look no further, elf-boy."

It took him a few seconds to get what she meant. His eyes widened as he pointed at her, once again completely dumbfounded. "_Y-you're_ Amaterasu? The legendary sun goddess from Nippon?" She nodded. He immediately went into a bow of apology. It was now Amaterasu's turn to stare at him with a dumbfounded look. "Please forgive my rudeness! I didn't know that you were a goddess! Please don't disintergrate me for my ignorance!"

"Um... sure." Ammy didn't really know what to make of this guy. Issun had a point about him though: he looked well-travelled. Maybe... "I'll forgive you officially if you tell everything you know about a person that I'm looking for."

"Okay," he said in a slightly nervous tone. He probably didn't run into gods too often. "Who are you looking for?"

"We're looking for a guy called the 'Hero of Twilight!'" Issun said out loud.

The green-clad young man looked at the both of them in surprise. "Huh... I guess we both found what we were looking for."

Amaterasu gawked at the guy. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

-o-

Hours later, they were around a campfire. Amaterasu had just finished explaining her situation to Link, who stared at her in amazement. "So... you're a wolf that was transformed into a human?" Ammy nodded. "What a coincedence. There was a time when I was turned into a wolf. How about that?"

"You were turned into a wolf once?" Ammy asked. Link nodded. She then got a hopeful look. "Can you tell me how change back into my original form? I hate being human!"

Link raised his hands to try and calm her down. "I'm sorry, but even if I knew every detail of how you were transformed, there's really nothing that I can do. I'm no expert when it comes to magical stuff like this."

Ammy's hopeful smile faded at that. She hung her head in disappointment. "I see. I guess I can't hold that against you."

"Hey, cheer up, Ammy!" Issun said as he hopped up and down on the ground. "Now that we have Link with us, we can find Yami and his buddy and put them both down!"

"Buddy?" Link asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh," Amaterasu said as she slapped her forehead. "I forgot to mention that. My old nemesis, Yami, has apparently made a new _friend_." She said "friend" with a lot of distaste. "That's why we needed to find you. You're the only one capable of beating this new guy."

"Yami's got an ally, huh?" Link said with a sigh of complaint. _Why can't things ever be simple?_ "Can you tell me about him?"

"Well," Issun said, cocking his head from side to side. "We don't really know a whole lot about him, other than the fact that has the title 'King of Evil.' That sound familiar?" Link stared at Issun with a look that was so intense, the little Poncle thought that young warrior might just kill him for mentioning that title.

"He's back?" the Hero of Twilight muttered. He got up and walked over to a tree, with Amaterasu and Issun giving him curious looks. The young hero punched the tree with enough force to break through the bark and cause his knuckles to bleed. "THAT BASTARD IS ALIVE!?" He turned back to Ammy and Issun. "Do you know where he is?" His voice was now filled with anger and contempt.

"W-we already told all we know," Ammy stammered. It wasn't like her to get nervous, but looking into Link's eyes just then made her feel as though _he _were the god and she was nothing more than a mortal peasant.

"Damn him," Link said angrily. He sat back down next to Amaterasu, still fuming at the thought of the Evil King being alive. He looked her dead in the eye. "I guess since I know about your enemy, it's only fair that you know about mine."

"What do you mean?" Ammy asked.

Link looked up at the night sky. "The King of Evil. The Dark Lord. The Prince of Darkness. The Demon King. These are all names for one man. The most evil person that this world has ever crapped out. His name is Ganondorf Dragmire." As Link began to explain all he knew about the Evil King, Ammy started to feel sick at the thought that any human could possibly be that evil.

-o-

"It is done," Ganondorf announced with his trademark evil grin. Before him and Yami stood a pair of dark individuals. One was a young man, and the other was young woman of about the same age.

"Good," Yami said dispassionately as his shadowy form approached the young woman. To the girl, he asked, "Who do you serve?"

She smirked. "You and you alone, Lord Yami."

Ganondorf's grin went slightly wider. With a pair of obedient super warriors at their beck and call, he and his colleague would be unstoppable.


	6. Chapter 6

Amaterasu stretched as she awoke. Yesterday had been a pretty long for her. When she met Link, she never would've guessed that he was the hero that she and Issun had been looking for. She had been expecting someone a little older. Late twenties at least. But she had to admit, she didn't really feel too disappointed. He was a nice enough guy.

She looked over to where he was still asleep. She briefly thought back to what the green-clad young man had told her about Ganondorf Dragmire. The King of Evil was a power-hungry sociopath who thought little of sacrificing others for personal gain. It that sense, he reminded her of Yami.

Issun hopped up onto her shoulder. "Morning, Ammy! How'd you sleep?"

"Fine, I guess," she replied. "No weird dreams if that's what you're asking." She went over to Link and nudged his shoulder. "Link? Wake up. It's morning. Time to get up." He made no response. She nudged him a little harder.

"Nnn," he groaned in his sleep. "Don't wanna get up."

"Wow," Issun said in amazement. "I never thought I'd ever meet someone who sleeps more than you, Ammy!" Amaterasu gave the Poncle a glare, making him shut up. She then returned her attention to the still-sleeping Link.

"Wake up!" she shouted as she kicked him in the gut. He howled in pain at the surprise attack. When the pain subsided, he glared at the goddess.

"What the hell was that for!?" he yelled at her indignantly.

"It's morning, genius!" she told him. "We've gotta get going!"

"All right, all right. Geez."

"Now ya know how I feel," Issun said as he hopped up and down on Amaterasu's shoulder. He was rewarded with another glare from the sun goddess. "Shutting up now."

"Good."

Link sighed at the two foreigners. From what Amaterasu had told him, they had been travelling together for a while now. How Issun survived this long was a mytery that he just couldn't quite figure out. He stood up, stretched, then went over to Epona. He reached into his bottomless pouch and pulled out a couple of carrots. He fed Epona two of the orange vegetables and stowed away the rest. He turned back to face Ammy and Issun so that he could tell them that they had leave for Hyrule. He saw that they were giving him weird looks. "What?"

"You just pulled six carrots out of a pouch that's barely the size of your fist," Issun said, gawking.

"How did you do that?" Ammy asked.

"Oh. Well I guess you should know." Link unhooked his pouch and showed it to the pair from Nippon. "This pouch is enchanted so that I can store items and weapons of all shapes and sizes easily. It makes travelling around a lot much easier."

"That sounds really handy!" Issun commented. "What all have you got in there?" Link answered by pulling out various items from the magic pouch, telling the Nipponese pair what each item was and what it was used for. The Hylian hero had a huge arsenal of weapons that made Ammy's look amateurish by comparison. Amaterasu and Issun stared at the bow, three bags of bombs, a gigantic ball and chain, and the weird top-like thing that Link called the Spinner in awe. There were plenty of other things for then to gawk at, like a pair of clawed things that looked like grappling hooks of some type. Hyrule had some pretty impressive things.

"Geez," Ammy said smartly. "You have enough weapons?"

"There's no such thing as too much in Hyrule," Link said with a proud grin. "Overkill doesn't exist in my mind." When he said that, Amaterasu made a mental note to _never_ piss this guy off.

-o-

Ganondorf and Yami watched their enemies through a crystal ball that the King of Evil had created. They weren't able to hear the pair, but they could see them just fine. The two heroes were just leaving their campsite. Ganondorf grinned.

"Now then," he said in anticipation. "Who shall we send to deal witht them? One of mine, or one of yours?"

Yami was silently considering who should be sent in. He quickly came to a decision. "I have an idea."

-o-

Four hours after they had left the campsite, Link and Ammy, both of whom were riding Epona, were heading for Hyrule. Issun bounced impatiently on Epona's head, which the chestnut mare didn't seem to mind at all.

"Say, green bean," Issun said to Link, much to the hero's annoyance. "What's this Hyrule place like anyway?"

"Yeah, Link," Amaterasu chimed in. "I would like to know about the place that you're taking us to."

Link smiled and looked up to the sky with a look that was almost... grateful. "It's an amazing land. Sure, it's not without it's troubles, but when in peacetime, it's a beautiful place. It's split into six areas called provinces. There's Ordona Province, Faron Province, Eldin Province, Lanayru Province Then there's the Mountain and Desert Provinces. Each province has it's own purpose and own unique elegance. The Ordona Province - my home in Hyrule - is the agricultural backbone of the nation. Pretty all of the food comes from there.

"Faron Province is where mysterious beings dwell. We don't deal with them much, but witnesses claim that they hear childlike voices and laughter echoing through the woods. The Eldin Province is where mostly Gorons dwell. They're a peaceful, proud tribe of rock people. They don't look smart, but from what I've seen, they're more advanced than any other race in Hyrule. There's the Lanayru Province, which is covered with rivers. It's where our ruler, the Hylian Queen Zelda, lives, as well as the Zoras, a race of aquatic creatures that can breathe underwater and swim faster than any other known aquatic.

"The Mountain Province is covered in ice and snow, and holds a serene beauty. If you can past the packs of wolves that roam the mountainside, you can find a ledge with a small statue where you can get a view of just about all of Hyrule. Trust me, you'd have to see it to believe it. Then of course, there's the Desert Province to the west. It's where only the hardiest of survivors live. A race called the Gerudo once lived there, but no one really knows what happened to them. Anyway, that's pretty much Hyrule in a nutshell. So, what's Nippon like?"

-o-

From the branches of a tree, a pair of blood-red eyes watched the travelling group. A wicked grin formed under those hate-filled eyes. The owner of those eyes couldn't wait to see the look on their faces.

-o-

Link laughed out loud. "So, wait, the guy actually danced with you while you were still a wolf?"

"For about six seconds," Amaterasu said with a chuckle. "But yeah. Waka was always a strange one."

"Strange?" Issun shouted. "The guy was downright nuts! He attacked you twice, Ammy! Did you forget about that?"

"No," Ammy said seriously. "But he's a good guy when you really get to know him."

"Ah, whatever!" Issun pouted. "Hey, Link, when are we getting to Hyrule anyway?"

"We should be there very soon. Barring any interruptions of course." And as if on cue, the group was suddenly surrounded by a red circular barrier. Amaterasu and Issun sweat-dropped as Link face-palmed. "When will I learn to shut up?"

The young hero's ears suddenly twitched at the sound of amused laughter. He and Amaterasu quickly climbed off of Epona. Link drew the Master Sword and his Hylian Shield, going into a fighting stance, as Ammy looked around, trying find the source of the laughter. She cursed her new human ears. They were nowhere near as good as wolf ears.

The laughter slowly died down. Soon, a humanoid figure passed through the barrier. It was young man, probably in his early twenties, with hair the color of sand and eyes as red the barrier itself. He wore atan-colored kimono that was similar in design to Amaterasu's own outfit, but retailored for a man to wear. He had a cocky grin on his face.

"Well, well," he said with a menacing tone. "What do we have here? A little green bug and a goddess. Oh, and a Poncle as well. Quite the catch."

Link's eye twitched. "I am NOT a bug."

"Really?" the man asked. "Heh. You could've fooled me, Hylian. That outfit screams 'step on me.'" The stranger eyed Amaterasu hatefully. "Do you remember me, goddess of sun?"

"Your face doesn't ring any bells," Ammy said suspiciously. "And from the look of you, I really don't want to remember."

"Ouch. Now that stings." The man smirked malevolently. "Maybe I should give you a little hint." He was then surrounded by some ominous red aura. The aura slowly grew larger and larger until manifested into nine huge tendrils that looked like oversized paintbrushes. The sight made Amaterasu's eyes widen in shock. A pang of realization suddenly slammed down on her.

"No," she said in utter disbelief. "You... you're supposed to be dead."

The man laughed in amusement. "So was Lord Yami. He and his new compatriot resurrected me solely for the purpose of destroying you both. It should be easy, since you still don't have your powers to back you up."

Link's eyes narrowed. "Ammy, who is this guy?"

"He's the ruler of a fortress called Oni Island," she replied disdainfully. "Ninetails."


	7. Chapter 7

**I'll be honest. I kind of forgot abour Issun while writing this chapter. I didn't mean to make any inconsistencies in this story, so I hope you guys can forgive that. Enjoy.**

-o-

Ninetails stood with his nine dark tendrils swishing behind him. Amaterasu glared at the demon while Link drew out the Master Sword and his Hylian Shield. The sun goddess didn't let that go unnoticed. She didn't know if she could help at all. Without her powers, she was weak and helpless. But as she reminded herself that she was powerless, a thought crossed her mind. If Ninetails was in a human form as well, then how could he use his own brush powers?

"Ninetails," Ammy said as she crouched slightly, ready to move at a moment's notice. "What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sure you know that I can't use my powers in this form. What about you?"

Ninetails raised an eyebrow at her. He began chuckling, then reared his head back, laughing as if the former she-wolf had just told the funniest joke in the world. When he faced them again, he said, "Do you really even have to ask? I'm a kitsune, genius! My race can transform into humans at will! I've been able to use my powers in a human form even when I had just one tail!" He raised a hand, grinning ominously. "Observe."

Suddenly, eight of the nine tendrils struck out at them, four heading for Link, and four heading for Amaterasu. On instinct, Link managed to leap away and slash at one of shadowy tails, the Master Sword's holy powers easily cleaving the demonic aura. Amaterasu just had to settle for evasion, instinctively sidestepping and jumping over each strike. Then the ninth tendril appeared in front of her. Before she could react, the dark aura wrapped itself around her and began to squeeze. She couldn't breathe. The tail was crushing her. She could hear and feel her ribs cracking under the pressure.

But before the life was crushed out of her, Link quickly severed the tail, causing the tendril to fade into nothing. She fell to her knees, gasping for breath. She nodded her thanks to the green-clad hero, who eyed her with some level of surprise.

_She's a goddess,_ he thought. _But she wasn't able to break free from that guy's grip. Can she… die?_ As he thought this, he heard Ninetails clapping slowly. The young hero glared at the demon, who had an amused smirk on his face.

"I'm impressed, Hylian," he said darkly. "And I don't say that very often. You managed to sever my aura tails. That alone is deserving of praise. I'll tell you what: leave now, and I might let you go. All I really want is to kill the goddess."

Link scowled at the fox demon. Was this guy really that dense? "Do you honestly think that I'll take you up on that offer? I'm not going to abandon Amaterasu! I need her to help save my homeland!"

"And she needs you to help save hers," Ninetails stated simply. Both Link and Amaterasu gave him confused looks. "Oh, didn't I tell you? To save one land, you'll both have to be there at the same time!" At that, their eyes widened with dark realization. "Yami in Hyrule. Ganondorf in Nippon. You'll only be able to save one of these two lands. You'll have to sacrifice the other!"

"I'm not sacrificing Hyrule!" Link shouted at the exact same moment that Amaterasu shouted, "I'm not sacrificing Nippon!" The two heroes both stared at each other with wide eyes, making Ninetails laugh sadistically.

"I see that there's going to be some disagreement between you two," the demon said cruelly. "Don't worry though. Neither of you will live to meet that choice!" His remaining seven tails struck out, but both Link and Ammy leaped away just before the shadows could hit them. The tails crashed into the ground, sending debris up into the air.

Link raised his shield as one tendril flew towards him. The virtually indestructible metal of the Hylian Shield managed to hold off the tail, but the dark aura pushed him back several feet before it finally receded, and another tail was able to attack him from behind. The tendril slammed into his back, making him cough up blood as another tail crashed into his chest, causing several ribs to crack and others to break. He was then knocked away by another tail. The green-clad hero skidded along the ground before stopping and lying motionless.

"Link!" Amaterasu shouted before a tail slammed into her own chest, sending her flying and crashing through a tree before her body crashed into a large boulder. Needless to say, it was a painful experience. She fell to the ground, groaning in pain as Ninetails approached her, an evil smirk still on his face.

"You're so naïve for a so-called goddess," he said as he crouched over her, an arrogant look in his eyes. "You're so hopeless. You no longer have power. You are no longer 'divine.' You're only human now. Nothing more. And even if you could somehow regain your power, there's no way you could save Hyrule or Nippon. So why bother? Why not just give into the darkness? It's your only hope for survival, Amaterasu."

The sun goddess looked up at him with a glare, but for some reason, deep down inside… she thought that he may be right. It's obvious that she and Link would never be able to overcome two of the greatest evils in the world. Maybe the darkness really was an unstoppable force. "I…" She couldn't think of anything to say. A part of her wanted to stop resisting, to see what the inside of the darkness was like.

_"Do not surrender, Amaterasu,"_ a group of voices spoke in her mind all at once. She recognized the voices. They belonged to her fellow Brush Gods. _"The path of light is rife with hardship. But you have walked it since the dawn of time, and all have benefitted because of it. Do not give in to the darkness. It will do nothing for you or anyone. Fight on, Amaterasu! Bring light to those who shun it! Rain justice upon the wicked and save the innocents of the world! We have given you all of our strength, and we now beseech you to use it! Vanquish the dark ones!"_

With that, Amaterasu enveloped in an explosion of pure white light, catching Ninetails completely off guard. The demon shielded his eyes as he backed away from the light. He could sense immense power coming from that light.

"What the hell is this?" he demanded. Soon, the light faded, revealing a restored Amaterasu. She was still in her human form, but Ninetails could plainly see that she had regained her godly powers. "What? How? How did you regain your power!?"

Amaterasu didn't answer his question. Instead, she raised her hand up into the air and said, "Tachigami…" Ninetails couldn't have predicted what happened next. "Power Slash." She swung her hand down in a perfect vertical line. A flash of light appeared and vanished instantly. A vertical tear suddenly appeared in Ninetails' kimono, followed by a veritable geyser of blood.

The demon shrieked in shock and leaped away, covering his open flesh with both hands in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He stared at the sun goddess in shock and even a little awe. There was a divine glow surrounding her, like some sort of barrier or something. He sneered in utter contempt.

"This isn't it, Amaterasu!" he shouted as he somehow began to sink into his own shadow. "Don't think that I'm afraid of you! I'll be back with even more power soon enough! The darkness will consume everything!" And with that, he was gone.

Amaterasu sighed as the light surrounding her faded. She looked at the palm of the hand she had used Power Slash with. At least now she wasn't totally defenseless. When she stopped mulling over all of that, she hurried over to where Link was lying on the ground.

She took a relieved breath as she checked his pulse. He was just unconscious. Still, she had to do something to help him recover. Suddenly, Issun leaped out her dress… he had been hiding in her cleavage. She gawked at the Poncle.

"That was a nice nap!" he said as he stretched while standing Link's chest. The wandering artist then noticed the young hero's condition. "Hey, what happened!?" He turned to Ammy, but stepped back in fear as she gave him a glare of absolute rage.

"Issuuuuun," she said ominously. "Why were you sleeping in my dress?"

"Uh…" the Poncle couldn't think of a good excuse. He instead just went for the first thing that popped into his mind. "Because… you're so… comfy?"

I need not explain what happened next.


	8. Chapter 8

Link groaned quietly as he woke up. He felt like he had been hit by a charging Bullbo. His entire torso stung. He winced as he sat up and tried to remember what had happened. He remembered a guy with sand-colored hair and foreign outfit similar to Amaterasu's kimono. He cursed silently and looked around. That Ninetails guy was nowhere to be found. Neither were Amaterasu and Issun. Only Epona was nearby, and she seemed to be asleep.

He stood up rather shakily. It was now that he noticed that he was shirtless, and covered with small scars and bandages. He must've been out for a few days. But oddly enough, he didn't feel hungry or thirsty like he thought he should have. It was odd. Any other time that he had been that badly injured, he always woke up starving.

"Hey, Link!" called Issun's voice. The young hero saw the little sprite bouncing toward him. The Poncle hopped up onto his shoulder. "It's about time you woke up! Come on, we need your help with something."

"What is it?"

"You'll see. It's actually kind of embarrassing."

Link gave the tiny man a confused glance before walking in the direction that Issun had come from. It was calm and quiet in the forest again. The birds were singing, and the sun was shining brightly. It was a gorgeous day.

"Dammit!" shouted Amaterasu's voice. When she was finally in view, Link could see her crouched down, looking as though she was struggling to lift something. "How is this thing so heavy!?"

"What seems to be the problem?" Link asked curiously. Amaterasu turned to reply. Her face suddenly turned about three or four shades of red before she looked away from Link's shirtless form, leaving the young Hylian wondering what she was thinking.

Ammy cleared her throat. "I-it's your sword," she said. "No matter what, I can't seem to pick it up. How did you do it?"

Link walked over to Amaterasu's side – the goddess still looking away from him – bent down, and picked up the Master Sword like it was a feather, making Amaterasu's eyes widen in shock and confusion.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"What do you mean? I just picked it up. Simple as that."

"But I couldn't lift that thing at all! How could you lift it so easily!?"

"Oh. Well, it's because of this." The Hylian held up his left hand, allowing the Triforce mark on the back of his hand to glow brightly. "Only people who bare this mark are capable of even lifting the Master Sword. And I'm the only one capable wielding the sword at its maximum power."

"What is that mark?" Issun asked as he bounced up onto Ammy's shoulder. Link chuckled a little.

"I'm not that good at explanations about stuff like that," he admitted. "Princess – er, Queen Zelda is better at that."

"And I'm guessing she's still in Hyrule," Amaterasu stated. Link nodded. "Well, we'd better get going. And Link?"

"Yeah?"

Ammy turned red again. "Would you please put a shirt on?"

-o-

Two days later, they finally arrived in the Kingdom of Hyrule, riding on Epona. Amaterasu and Issun both looked out in awe at the great expanse of land before them. It was even bigger than they had expected. And Link was right about the scenery. The vast fields were rich with bright green grass, colorful flowers, tall trees, and the occasional wild animal. Not only that, but even the weather was perfect.

"Yep," Link said when he looked at the goddess and the Poncle. "This is my homeland. The great Kingdom of Hyrule. Accept no substitutes."

"It's beautiful," Amaterasu said admiringly.

"You can say that again, Ammy," Issun agreed. "Remind me to paint a landscape work for this place later."

Link nudged Epona forward and said, "First stop, Castle Town. Then we'll head for Hyrule Castle."

"Hey, Link," Issun spoke up, getting the Hero of Twilight's attention. "I was just wondering; what are the women here like?"

"I'm guessing more or less the same as the women of Nippon," Link replied. "Just with different outfits. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason." Issun slowly gained a slightly perverted grin. He then received another death glare from Amaterasu. He immediately turned the other way. "Anyway, how long until we get to the castle?"

"Shouldn't be too long," Link said as he began estimating the approximate time. "About an hour maybe? I know a couple of different routes we can take. Would you prefer a short cut or the scenic route?"

"We need to save time," Ammy pointed out. "We should get to the castle as fast as possible."

Link nodded. "The short cut it is then. Hang on tight!" He cracked Epona's reigns, and the chestnut mare neighed as she bolted off. Amaterasu yelped in surprise and tightened her grip around Link's waist to keep herself from falling off the horse.

She looked up and was about ask him to slow down, but she stopped. He looked back her with a confident grin and those sharp, wild blue eyes. For some reason, she suddenly felt… safe. It was weird. She had innumerable enemies. She was never safe. But looking into Link's strong, confident eyes… she really felt like she could rely on him. Maybe it was just trust between fellow adventurers? Yeah, that had to be it. But that didn't explain why her heart had suddenly started racing.

She remembered that, as she was healing Link with the Brush Technique of Yomigami, her heart had started racing then as well. When she took off his shirt and saw his toned body, she had to resist the urge to just sit there and stare at him. She still wondered why she had to.

_Well,_ she thought._ He _is_ kind of…_ She immediately shook her head. Why was she thinking these things? Aren't gods supposed to not feel like _that_ about a mortal? "Look where you're going!"

Link blinked and faced forward. He yelped in surprise when he saw that they were headed for a cliff. Fortunately, Epona was smart enough to turn and head toward Castle Town again. The green-clad hero sighed and thanked Amaterasu for her vigilance.

They eventually made it to Castle Town's East Gate. Link was eager to get back to the castle, where Ilia and Zelda awaited his return. They passed through the open gates. The first thing Link noticed was how empty the street was. Though unusual, it wasn't surprising. The most activity was in the square anyway. But what really unnerved him was the fact that there was no guard posted at the gate. There was _always_ a guard there, whether they were alert or asleep.

"Something's not right," he said quietly. Amaterasu nodded in agreement. Though she had never been to Castle Town, she had been to Sei-an City. Places like this were always booming with activity.

As they went through the town, they saw a couple of guards conversing. Link sighed with relief. If the guards were still in town, then things might not be as bad as he first thought. No monsters at least.

Link waved at the guards, one of whom pointed at him. The two guards approached Link and Amaterasu… with spears pointing right at their faces.

"What the?" Link said in surprise. "What's going on?"

"Link of Ordona Province," the guard whose spear was aimed at Link. "You and your accomplice are under arrest under the charge of triple homicide."


	9. Chapter 9

Link stared at the guards, completely dumbfounded. "Wait. What?"

"You and your accomplice are wanted for murder!" the guard replied. "You killed two civilians and a guard in broad daylight!"

"But that couldn't have been us!" Amaterasu shouted in defense.

"There were ten witnesses!" the other guard exclaimed. "You are clearly guilty! Now give up any and all weapons on your person immediately!"

Link narrowed his eyes. Someone must have framed them somehow. There must have been some imposters or something. He looked over at Amaterasu, who looked at him worriedly. Her face then went tougher, and she nodded, apparently ready for anything. Link reached into his pouch and pulled out… some kind of nut. The guards looked at the nut cautiously. Suddenly, Link shouted, "Ammy, cover your eyes!" and threw the shell onto the ground. There was a bright flash that blinded not just the guards, but also Ammy, who couldn't shield her eyes in time.

She felt a hand grab onto hers and pull her away. She didn't offer any resistance, instinctively knowing that it was Link pulling her along. They went past several turns before they finally stopped. Amaterasu's vision soon became clear again. She saw that they were in an alley where there was a groove in the wall. In the groove was a door, next to which was a sign written in a language that she couldn't understand – most likely Hylian.

She heard the sound of rushing, armored feet go by. They quickly faded away. Ammy sighed in relief. She was afraid that she would have to use her powers to help them escape, but apparently, that wouldn't be necessary.

"I think they're gone," Link said as he looked out from their hiding place. He soon nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, they're gone." He began heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Issun asked from Amaterasu's shoulder.

Link faced them with a slight grin. "This is where my most trusted allies meet up. We'll talk to Telma. She has a way to get into Hyrule Castle discretely."

"She knows a secret passage?" Ammy asked curiously. Link nodded. "Does the queen know about it?"

"Who do you think put it there in the first place?" the green-clad hero replied as though it should've been obvious. He led them to the door, explaining that this was a tavern, and ushered the goddess and Poncle inside.

When she entered, she expected to see a bunch of drunken men staring at her. Instead, the place was mostly empty, save for a skinny man at a table drinking mug after mug of alcohol and muttering something about ghosts and dogs.

At the counter, a plump, dark-skinned, red-haired woman wearing a navy-blue dress stood cleaning out a glass. She didn't really notice either Ammy or Link until the Hero of Twilight walked up to her.

"Link!" she said with big grin on her face. She got away from behind the counter, approached Link, and gave him a welcoming hug. "It's been a long time since I've seen you around here. I heard about those killings, but every time someone pointed a finger at you, I always said that you would never even hurt an innocent person. You're just too good a person."

"Thanks, Telma," Link said with a grateful smile. He then motioned to Ammy. "Telma, this is Amaterasu, from the nation of Nippon to the east. She needs to speak with Zelda about something of grave importance."

"I see," Telma replied. She stuck her hand out to Amaterasu. "Well, any friend of Link's is a friend of mine. The name's Telma." Ammy nodded, bowed, and shook the woman's hand. "If you need to speak with the queen, then I can arrange for you two to get to the castle without having to worry about the guards."

"Thank you, Ms. Telma," Amaterasu said gratefully.

"Think nothing of it, dear," Telma replied. She turned to the skinny man who was getting drunk at the table. "Jovani! If you keep drinking like that, you're going to die of liver failure! Put that mug down!" The man grumbled and plunked his mug on the table. Telma returned her attention to Link and Ammy. "I'll send word to the others, Link. Auru and Ashei are already at the castle."

"They are?" Link asked. "I thought they were on an expedition to study the ruins in the Gerudo Desert."

"They were, but Queen Zelda called them back. Something about an offense from Nippon."

"An offense?" Amaterasu asked. "What do you mean?"

"A foreign emissary came saying she was from Nippon," Telma explained. "She apparently said that someone from Hyrule has stolen an important imperial treasure from the Nipponese emperor. After that, things got kind of out of hand."

"That doesn't sound good," Link said as he scratched the back of his head.

"It gets worse. Apparently, if the treasure isn't returned within the next three days, there's going to be war."

"WAR!?" both Link and Amaterasu shouted in unison. Telma nodded grimly. Amaterasu said, "But that's too much! The emperor wouldn't declare war over some trinket!"

Telma's face went beyond the seriousness she had been holding. "And that's not even the worst of it."

"THERE'S MORE!?"

"Unfortunately. It seems that someone has also stolen a priceless heirloom from out of the castle. The queen seemed to go into a really bad mood when she found out. From what Ashei tells me, there might actually be war."

"That's definitely bad," Link said as he took a seat at the counter. "Though I think I know who's behind all this."

Ammy nodded. "Ganondorf and Yami. If the two countries go to war, both sides will most likely be playing right into their hands."

"I don't know who this Yami fella is," Telma admitted with a distasteful sneer, "but I've read some of Shad's books regarding Ganondorf. If he really is behind all this, then things are only going to get more complicated. And I think framing you two might be a part of it."

"So that the people don't trust us," Link theorized. "Those bastards know that we're the heroes of our respective lands. Take away the trust that the people put into a hero, and you take away the hero. It demoralizes the people and soldiers when they think that their heroes are criminals."

Amaterasu nodded regretfully. "Regardless, we still need to speak to the queen. Maybe we can talk some sense into her, get her to stop before something starts."

"I can only hope that it'll be that easy," Link said with a sigh. "We can talk to her, but when royalty makes up its mind, it's next to impossible to change it."

Telma nodded. "Well, first thing's first. Let's get you two into the castle." She pointed up to a shaft on the ceiling, which led into a hole in the wall. "Take that tunnel up there. It leads to the underground waterway, which will lead you to the castle. It's an old waterway, so it might get pretty rough in there."

"We can handle it," Link said with a nod. "Right, Ammy?"

Amaterasu nodded in agreement. "Right. Let's go."

They made their way over to the shaft, where Link cupped his hands. Ammy stepped carefully onto his hands and reached up as he boosted her up into the air. When she was up safely, she reached down and grabbed Link's hand and hoisted him up as well. They headed down the tunnel.

Telma smiled and returned to cleaning the glasses at the counter. Things were getting pretty dicey, but with Link on the job, she was certain everything would return to normal soon. She hoped so at least.


	10. Chapter 10

"This place reeks," Issun complained as he bounced impatiently on Amaterasu's shoulder. They were currently sloshing through the waterway that led into the dungeons of Hyrule Castle. Rats scurried across the wet stone floor as Link and Ammy trudged through the sewer-like conditions, with Link on point, holding up his lantern, which, of course, he pulled out of his bottomless pouch. "Are we there yet?"

"For the umpteenth time, Issun," Link said in an annoyed tone, "we are not there yet. You'll know when we are. Trust me."

"So this sewer leads into the castle, huh?" Ammy inquired. Link nodded. "This kind of reminds me of a secret tunnel that I found that led into the castle in Sei-an City back in Nippon. But it was much more sinister, like it had a dark aura of its own filling it. We even found a priestess's skeleton there." At the mention of that secret well, Issun grumbled something about "stupid foxes" and "ruined mountains."

After that, they traveled in silence, the only sound being the shrill sound of rats squeaking and the unnerving effect of water droplets falling into the water below. Ammy couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. She stopped and turned, looking down in the darkness of the waterway.

"Ammy?" Link called when he realized that the sun goddess had stopped following. "Is something wrong?"

Amaterasu stood silently for a few moments before shaking her head and catching up with Link. "It's nothing. Just nerves I guess." Link nodded, accepting that, and continued to lead the Nipponese goddess and Poncle through the path.

-o-

A single large eye opened in the darkness far behind them. Its ominous, orange glow illuminated the immediate area somewhat, but only enough so that a pair of massive eyelids could be seen.

_"Preeeey…" _the owner of that eye hissed as its eye closed shut.

-o-

Link and Ammy stood at a fork in the path, the green-clad hero looking both ways, trying to remember which path they needed to take. "Come on, blue-eyes," Issun said impatiently. "We're not gettin' any younger over here. Which way do we go?"

"I'm thinking," Link replied. He looked down the left path, then the right, then left again. "Hmm…" He reached into his pouch and pulled out a… coin. "Heads, we go left. Tails, we go right."

Amaterasu and Issun both sweat-dropped. "He's leaving this to a coin toss?" Ammy asked as she face-palmed. "How did he make it as a hero?"

"Who knows?" Issun answered, also face-palming.

Link flipped the coin, caught it in midair, and slapped it onto his wrist. He moved his head and nodded. "Left it is," he said as he tucked the coin away and headed left. Amaterasu sighed and followed the "ingenious" Hylian.

_We're going to be trapped down here forever,_ she thought with grim realization.

As they walked down the watery corridor, the path slowly became slightly drier. Eventually, they were no longer trudging through water. They now walked on dry stone ground, thankfully. They decided to take now as a brief respite before continuing. Link set his lantern on the ground and pulled a bottle of water and a wrapped item out of his pouch. He handed them to Amaterasu. "Lady's first," he said. "Bon appétit."

Amaterasu nodded her thanks and unwrapped the item. It was just bread, nothing special about it. Nonetheless, she was grateful, and began eating the bread as Link took some out for himself. As they ate, she asked, "By the way, what's Queen Zelda like? You seem to know her really well."

Link shrugged. "I wouldn't say that. We know each other well enough. It's not like I live with her. But she's a trusted friend, as well as a great leader. She would do anything to protect the people of Hyrule, but she tends to take things a little too seriously. Trust me, when we meet her, you have to show her the utmost respect. She's not very temperamental, but she's still the queen. Besides, the guards really wouldn't appreciate it if you referred to her as casually as I do."

"What does that mean?" Issun asked, cocking his tiny head to the side.

"I've earned the right to talk to her as a friend," Link explained, "but you two are strangers. Foreigners even. You'll have to stay on your toes." Ammy and Issun nodded in understanding.

"Hey, Ammy?" Issun asked. "Could I have some bread, too?" Amaterasu nodded and broke a piece off or her own bread and handed it to the Poncle, who happily bit into it.

Several minutes later, when they finished their bread and water, Link grabbed his lantern, and continued down the way, Amaterasu following diligently. After several more seconds, Link stopped. Ammy raised an eyebrow at the Hylian.

"Link?" she asked, trying to get his attention. "What's wrong? Why'd you stop?"

"Don't you hear it?" he asked.

"Hear what?"

"I don't know, but…" He paused for a moment. "It sounds so… divine." He spoke in a way that Amaterasu hadn't heard him speak like before. He sounded as though he were suddenly love-struck. He started walking in a seemingly random direction, his lantern hanging from his hand and in danger of falling to the ground.

"Link?" Ammy called to him again. She ran up ahead of him and waved her hand in front of his face. No reaction. That's when she noticed his expression… or lack thereof. He held no emotion on his face. No reason. She snapped her fingers in front of him, yelled his name, and even slapped him once. Nothing. "That's unusual. What do you think is wrong with him, Issun?"

"Don't know," Issun said. The tone of his voice made her eyes widen. He had the same tone that Link did. "Don't care… beautiful music."

_Music?_ She had no idea what that meant, but she had a sinking feeling that it was bad news. At the moment though, she had no choice but to follow Link and see what was causing the two of them to act so weird.

Soon, they entered a hall that had torches on either side. Ammy took the lantern from Link's hand, doing so without resistance. She turned the little dial on the thing, and the flame went out. She held onto it, not wanting to invade Link's personal space any more than she already had. She doubted that he would mind in his current state, but she still felt uncomfortable reaching so close to his… lower half. That thought made her face red, and she promptly shook any inappropriate thoughts from her mind. _Now's not the time, Ammy._

Eventually, they entered a large hall with old pillars holding up the ceiling. It was a bit brighter in here, thanks to some sunlight shooting in from a hole in the ceiling. She could now hear the sound of a harp being played. She looked to the source of the music and saw a beautiful woman sitting on a chair, her hands strumming across the strings of a large harp.

The woman wore a pure white silken dress, and had beautifully fair skin, and long dark hair that contrasted her complexion. Her eyes were a startling blue. She smiled at Amaterasu as Link continued walking toward the mystery woman. Issun hopped off the goddess's shoulder and joined Link.

"Do you like my music?" the woman asked, apparently taking a special interest in Amaterasu. "These strings are woven from my finest silk. They make for a lovely tune, don't you agree?"

Ammy narrowed her eyes at the woman. A strange woman playing a harp in the sewers. Yeah, that's not suspicious at all. "Who are you?"

"Just a humble harpist," the woman replied. "I also make fine dresses. Would you like me to make you one?" Amaterasu answered with a distrusting glare. The woman giggled. "What a rude face you're making. Boys, she's hurting my feelings."

"Stop it!" Link shouted at Amaterasu. "Don't make me hurt you!"

"Yeah!" Issun chimed in. "Get lost, or I'll whip out my trusty sword, Denkomaru!"

"What?" Ammy asked, taken aback by their words. The woman laughed darkly.

"They're staying with me from now on," she said, her voice suddenly becoming dark and menacing. She suddenly began to rise from her seat. Eight huge _things_ exploded out of the ground, picking her up even higher. What Ammy now saw before her reminded her of the Spider Queen from the Agata Ruins, only she had a human torso instead of just a head. The woman's beautiful, flawless face was replaced by a huge, ugly eye that glowed and evil orange color. "You asked who I am, Amaterasu. Allow me to illuminate the sun goddess. I am Matrigohma! She who birthed all the arachnid creatures in Hyrule known as the Gohma! And you are my prey!"

-o-

**Spiders suck. Raise your hand if you agree.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A friend of mine asked me before if Amaterasu prefers her human form or her wolf form. I've decided to let Ammy answer that question. Ammy?**

**Amaterasu: I honestly don't really notice the difference that much anymore. But if I had to choose, I'd say my wollf form. It's just what I've been used to for a long time. That's not to say that my human form doesn't have any perks to it. Opposable thumbs are always handy, no pun intended.**

**Well, there you have it, folks. With that out of the way, enjoy the new chapter!**

-o-

Amaterasu ran for cover as Matrigohma smashed through a pillar. It was really all she could do at the moment. She knew nothing about Hyrulian monsters, and couldn't think of anything to do to beat the oversized arachnid. She ducked behind a mound of rock, panting heavily. She needed to come up with a plan, and fast. Otherwise, she and the others will become lunch for a spider the size of a house.

She heard Matrigohma speak. "Find her for me, boys! I'll reward you!"

"Of course, ma'am!" both Link and Issun replied simultaneously.

_Great,_ Ammy thought with a sigh. Fighting Matrigohma would likely be hard enough, but with Link and Issun in the way, things would only get more difficult. She silently cursed the existence of spiders in general. She would have to think fast.

"Found her!" called Link's voice. The sun goddess turned to see Link charging towards her, the Master Sword ready to cleave her in two. She jumped away as Link slashed downward, his blade lodging into the ground. She responded to his attack by casting simple spell that covers the target in ink. The Hero of Twilight sputtered and spit ink out of his mouth as he tried to wipe his eyes clean, failing miserably.

"Look out!" she heard Issun's voice shout. She saw the small Poncle bouncing toward her, rapidly slashing his sword, as if to look intimidating. He would be much more difficult to deal with than Link, Ammy thought. Not because of skill, but because of his small size and shocking agility. She also knew firsthand that being cut by Denkomaru stung like a bee sting.

"Back off, Issun," Ammy warned her longtime partner as she raised her hand, preparing for a Celestial Brush Technique. "I don't want to hurt you."

"If ya don't wanna fight," Issun said in a threatening voice, "then just surrender! It'll be less painful for you!"

Amaterasu replied with Galestorm, the technique of Kazegami. A powerful wind began roaring, blowing Issun back a fair distance, but getting a lot of ink off of Link's body. The Hylian warrior took hold of the Master Sword's hilt and yanked it out of the ground, then charged at Ammy. Amaterasu hadn't noticed in time to dodge. Her eyes widened in shock as the heavenly blade swung toward her torso… and harmlessly passed right through her. Link's eyes went wide with surprise, giving Amaterasu an opening to kick him in the gut, then run like hell to hide behind a pillar.

As she hid, she raised a hand to her chest, where the Master Sword would've sliced her in two. Not that she wasn't grateful that the blade didn't hurt her, but she had to wonder _why_ the blade didn't hurt her. Was it because she was a goddess? Could it be possible that the Master Sword couldn't harm the truly divine? Or was there something else to it?

She shook her head. She didn't have time to wonder. She had to think about how to beat Matrigohma. Preferably, without hurting Link and Issun in the process. She began running through strategies in her head, a habit she picked up during her adventures throughout Nippon. She dismissed a lot of them, because they all ended poorly.

_Hmm… maybe if I…_ She ran through tactic after tactic. None of them could end well.

"Need some help, ma cherie?" She jumped at the sound of Waka's voice, though she managed not to yelp and give away her position.

"Waka?" she whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"I sensed that you were in grave danger," the prophet explained, "so I thought I'd come on by and see how my favorite goddess is doing. Not too well, I would assume."

"You would assume right," Ammy replied with a sigh. She quickly informed him of the situation. He nodded as he received the information, then moved to draw his sword.

"Controlling their minds, eh?" he said calmly with a smirk on his face. "All right then. I'll keep them busy. You deal with the spider."

"But-!" Before Amaterasu could say anything more, Waka dashed and clashed swords with Link, who was unsurprisingly caught off guard by the newcomer. Ammy heaved a breath and went after Matrigohma, who was hanging back as Link and Issun fought Waka.

"Moegami!" she shouted as she drew a figure-eight in the air with her hand. "Fireburst!" The spider-woman was greeted by an explosion of flame right in her face. She shrieked in pain, stumbling on her eight huge legs. When she recovered, hair singed and eye smoking somewhat, she glared furiously at Amaterasu.

"How dare you!?" Matrigohma exclaimed in outrage. "You've marred my beautiful face! I'll bury you for this insolent transgression!"

"Me insolent?" Amaterasu said in a taunting tone. "You're the one who's trying to kill a goddess here, not me!" She held her right hand to her left side. "Tachigami!" She swung her hand. "Power Slash!" A blade-shaped flash sliced across Matrigohma's massive thorax. "By the way, you're one of the ugliest monsters I've ever seen. Seriously, you make Blight look like a male model! And he's just a suit of armor!"

Matrigohma roared in a rage and charged at the snow-haired goddess. Ammy quickly turned and ran as the gigantic arachnid chased her. She turned, running backwards, and decided that now was as good a time as any to try something new. But first, she needed to by a little time. "Kasugami! Veil of Mist!" She marked the air with two brief lines, creating a time-slowing fog. She then stopped and drew several lightning-shaped arrows in the air. "Gekigami! Volt Arrows!" Six arrows of lightning struck the Gohma birthmother square in the chest, eliciting a pained cry from the spider.

Ammy smirked. The Volt Arrows were her own original creation that she came up with when playing with Gekigami's Brush Technique, the Thunderstorm. She figured that if she could manipulate lightning, with enough training, she would be able to create it as well. The result of six months of hard work was the Volt Arrows, bolts of lightning that actually home in on the target to certain degree. It wasn't without its flaws though, as the arrows would sometimes just explode or not appear at all. This was the first time she actually used it in battle.

"How do you like that, spider-girl?" she asked mockingly. "Had enough yet?" Matrigohma replied by slamming one of her legs into Amaterasu's stomach, sending the goddess flying into a wall.

The Gohma woman chuckled darkly. "That was actually pretty good. But you hit the wrong spot on my body, goddess." Her huge, orange eye glowed with malice. "You'll never be able to defeat me, wench. I'm far more powerful than any of my children. And now you die!" Her eye slowly began to glow brighter and brighter. Ammy could easily see what was coming. That look in Matrigohma's single eye practically petrified her. She clenched her eyes shut.

_THUNK!_

The goddess's eyes opened wide. She looked to her left to see Waka's regular katana jammed into the wall. "Use it!" he shouted to her as he blocked an attack from Link with his glowing sword Pillow Talk.

Amaterasu immediately grabbed the weapon with her right hand and pulled herself out of the wall, falling to the ground with a soft thud. She looked up at Matrigohma, who was still charging up whatever attack she was preparing. "Here goes nothing!" the goddess shouted as she leaped at the giant spider. She grabbed onto one of her many legs and flipped onto her back. The Gohma matriarch struggled to turn and face the goddess, but she lacked the flexibility.

Ammy ran down the Gohma queen's back and up to her torso, where she gripped her neck in a headlock with her left arm. She twirled Waka's katana so that she held it in a reverse-grip, then rammed the blade through Matrigohma's huge eye. The light from Matrigohma's orange orb faded quickly. Amaterasu let her grip on her neck slacken a little.

She leaped off of the spiderlike form and saw that Link had apparently suddenly blacked out, leaving a confused-looking Waka. The goddess could only assume that the same happened to Issun, since she couldn't see him anywhere.

Suddenly, Matrigohma roared in agony, catching Ammy and Waka completely off guard. "NO!" she hollered in agony. "Master, please! Spare me!"

"Master?" Amaterasu inquired.

"I'll do anything!" Matrigohma screamed in her suffering. "Give me a second chance!"

_"There are no second chances,"_ said a deep, powerful baritone from everywhere and nowhere at once. _"You should know that by now, with all the failures of your precious children."_

"NO!" Matrigohma's body slowly began to fade into dust that blew away. She screamed in agony as she soon faded into nothingness, and Waka's katana clattered on the ground. Amaterasu could only stare in shock.

_"You've done well, sun goddess,"_ the baritone said with a malevolent chuckle. _"I'm impressed that you were able to defeat Matrigohma, even if it was with the aid of a seer."_

"Who are you?" Ammy demanded with a glare at the ceiling. "Show yourself!"

There was a dark laugh. _"My, aren't we fiery? Don't fret, goddess. We shall meet sometime in the future. That is, if you live long enough, of course."_ There was a moment of silence. _"Though I suppose it would only be fair to let you know just who you're dealing with. I have gone by many names: the Gerudo King of Thieves, the Demon King, the Dark Lord, the King of Evil. But my real name is-"_

"You must be Ganondorf," Amaterasu theorized. The voice of the Evil King laughed.

_"Am I so infamous that even foreign lands know of my power? It appears that you easterners aren't the mindless savages that I thought you to be." _There was dark laughter. _"I'm certain that my new partner, Yami, would love nothing more than to eviscerate you himself. Farewell, Amaterasu. We shall meet in person someday."_ With that, the voice faded.

"Well," Waka said, "that was definitely sinister." He heard Link groan beside him. "Looks like he's waking up."

"Where's Issun?" Ammy asked the blond prophet.

"Over there," Waka replied, pointing over at a pile of rocks, where Issun lay unconscious. "He'll be fine. So should your boyfriend."

The goddess took a breath of relief. "Thank goodness for-" Something suddenly clicked in her head. Her face went completely red. "Wait, what!? Link is not my boyfriend!"

Waka laughed. "Relax, ma cherie. I was just kidding. Though your reaction actually suggests that you would like to be more than just friends with him."

"What? No!" Amaterasu was now redder than a tomato.

Waka laughed again at her expense. "Keep telling yourself that, ma cherie. I can see it written all over your face." He looked up at the hole in the ceiling, and before Ammy could say anything else, he said, "I have to get going. You have a mission to do."

Amaterasu sighed and nodded. "Stop Yami. Again. Got it. I guess I'll see you later then."

The prophet nodded. "Farewell for now." And with that, he vanished into a rainbow of small lights. She heard Link groan as he picked himself up off the ground.

"Ugh…" he moaned. "I feel I got hit by a boulder. What happened? Where are we?"

Amaterasu sighed, and when Issun came to and hopped over to join them, she began explaining what had happened. Both males looked both embarrassed and terrified that they had been brainwashed like that, which Ammy just couldn't help but find to be a little funny to her.


	12. Chapter 12

A panel on the floor of the castle lifted. A pair of blue eyes darted back and forth, making sure that there were no guards nearby. When he was assured that the coast was clear, Link rose out from the hole in the floor, then reached down to take Amaterasu's hand and help her up. When the two heroes were finally on the surface, Issun bouncing gratefully on Ammy's shoulder, Link closed the panel and motioned for the goddess to follow. They crept through the castle, each pair of eyes watching for any guards. They soon came across a forked path.

"This way," Link said as he went to the right, which took them up a flight of stairs. They ascended the steps quietly, though Link said that there were rarely any guards in this particular area. They eventually came across a set of large double doors that were made from fine oak. Link turned the knob on one of them and ushered Ammy in.

When the sun goddess entered, her sight fell upon a young woman who was sitting on a large windowsill, looking out at the expansive fields of Hyrule. Her hair was mostly brown, with streaks of blonde here and there. Her eyes were blue, like Link's, but lighter. She wore a royal dress of white and purple, with symbols of royalty embroidered on it, and had elbow-length gloves on her arms. She also had long, pointy ears, like Link did. They must have been of the same race then.

The young woman turned and faced them with a curious gaze. She rose from her seat and stood almost rigidly. "Link," she said, addressing the green-clad Hylian. "It is good to see that you've returned." She looked over at Amaterasu with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Is she the one?"

"Yeah, she is," Link said with an affirmative nod. He gave a respectful bow to the woman. "I'm guessing you've already heard about the murders that she and I have been framed for."

"Yes," the royal woman said with nod. Her focus fell on Ammy. "I am Zelda, Queen of Hyrule." She gave a curt bow. "I am honored to meet you, Amaterasu."

"You're the queen?" Issun piped up. Zelda gave the Poncle a curious look and nodded.

"But…" Amaterasu started. "You're just… you're so young."

"I can't say that I know how things work where you come from," Zelda admitted, "but in Hyrule, when the crowned heir turns eighteen, they are to be crowned the official monarch of the kingdom." Her eyes suddenly gained a suspicious look. "Forgive me, but you bear an uncanny resemblance to the messenger that was sent from Nippon. The one who stole the Royal Family's sacred heirloom."

"Amaterasu was with me the whole time, Zelda," Link said in Ammy's defense. "She didn't steal anything."

"We heard from a woman named Telma that something was stolen from the castle," Issun said. Ammy could tell that he was fighting off the urge to make innuendos regarding Zelda's appearance. "We also heard that you guys were accused of stealing something from the emperor."

"We stole nothing," Zelda said defensively. "That Nipponese messenger stole an invaluable treasure that may only be carried by those who are blessed by the three Golden Goddesses. It is an affront to all of Hyrule to take it without observation by the Royal Family."

"What was stolen?" Link asked before Zelda go into a rant.

The young queen looked at Link almost angrily. "The Ocarina of Time."

"The WHAT!?" Link exclaimed, a look of shock on his face. "How the hell could anyone have gotten that!?"

"Um… excuse me?" Amaterasu interrupted. "Care to fill me and Issun in on this little gossip of yours?"

Zelda took a deep breath. "The Ocarina of Time, a precious instrument once carried by the original Hero of Time, is a tool capable of many incredible things, depending on the song that is played on it."

"So… it's a musical instrument?" Issun surmised. Zelda nodded. "Then what makes it so important? Just get another one."

"We _can't_ 'just get another one,'" Link stated seriously. "The Ocarina of Time is a one-of-a-kind flute-like instrument. Whoever holds it can create storms, turn night into day and vice versa, collapse mountains with a single note, and even manipulate the flow of time itself. It's said that the Ocarina was crafted by Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, who also rules over time."

"It can do all that?" Amaterasu asked, hoping that they were just exaggerating.

"And more," Zelda said. "If the Ocarina were to fall into the wrong hands, it would be a complete catastrophe." She then glared at Amaterasu. "I'm sorry, but unless it is returned, I will have no choice but to declare war against your country."

"Could you at least tell us what you were accused of stealing?" Issun asked.

Zelda thought for a moment. "The messenger said that it was something called the 'Fox Rods.' Does that mean anything to you?"

Ammy's eyes went wide, as did Issun's. "The Fox Rods!?" Ammy shouted. "Those were supposed to have been sealed away! I did that myself! How on earth could anyone have gotten to them!?"

"Care to explain why a bunch of rods are so important?" Zelda inquired.

"The Fox Rods are a collection of nine rods," Ammy explained, "each imbued with great and terrible dark power. They were wielded by a demon called Ninetails, who Link and I encountered on our way to Hyrule. You remember, right, Link?"

The green-clad hero nodded. "Yeah. The bastard."

Issun continued Amaterasu's explanation, saying, "Ninetails can use the Fox Rods to unlock his full power. But since Ammy beat him at his full strength once, I'll bet that he's going to try and give the rods to his master; that freak Yami."

There was a momentary silence then.

"OH, HELL NO!" Ammy suddenly screamed. "It was bad enough when Ninetails used the Fox Rods, but if Yami absorbs their power…" She hesitated. Link and Zelda seemed to get the picture.

"He and Ganondorf are definitely behind this," Link said, his suspicions confirmed. "Ganondorf gets the Ocarina of Time, and he uses it to manipulate time to the point where he can never lose."

"Yami gets those Fox Rods," Amaterasu said, apprehension lacing her voice, "and he gains enough power to destroy the sun, i.e. me."

Zelda cursed in ancient Hylian. "I'm such a fool. I should have expected a plot like this from Ganondorf. If only I saw it coming, I could've done something to prevent it."

"It's not your fault, Zelda," Link assured the young monarch. "Ganondorf's a tricky opponent. He might be a powerhouse, but he's intelligent, too. We're just pawns on a chessboard to that son of a bitch." Amaterasu pinched him on his arm. Her angry glare reminded him that she was a wolf once, so that choice of words probably wasn't the best. "Sorry," he muttered.

Zelda sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. "I've been the queen for three days, and already the kingdom is being threatened. And now another nation is caught up in our troubles."

"Yami is Nippon's problem, Your Highness," Amaterasu said. "I'll make sure that he stays dead this time."

"You know, I've been wondering about that…" Issun said with his tiny arms crossed, cocking his from side to side. "Even if you didn't destroy his soul, how did Yami regain his power after just a year? That kind of power should take way longer to recuperate. Centuries at least."

"Hey, yeah," Link said, he face going into a thoughtful expression. "The Master Sword went right through Ganondorf's heart. His piece of the Triforce was taken away as well. How could he have come back from that?"

Zelda thought about it for several seconds. She sighed quietly. "I feel as though there may be more to this than we initially believed." That statement hung in the air, each mind in the room practically sprinting to try and figure out what was going on.

-o-

Ganondorf paced back and forth in the large chamber where he and Yami met. His partner eventually appeared in his usual smoky form. "Where have you been?" Ganondorf inquired.

"I have been spreading my darkness into hearts throughout Nippon," the Dark Lord replied in his smooth rasp. "What of you? Have you been doing your part?"

Ganondorf nodded. "Of course. I had our two specialists kill off a few people and frame our enemies. The people of Hyrule will be demoralized at the thought of their precious 'Hero of Twilight' being nothing more than a common criminal and a murderer."

_"Very well done!"_ called out a voice from seemingly nowhere, followed by a loud applause from a single, unnoticeable person. _"Everything is going exactly according to plan, boys! I knew I could count on you two!"_

"How you reveal yourself now?" Ganondorf asked the voice. "I don't appreciate it when someone speaks to me the way you are now."

_"Sorry, but not yet,"_ the voice replied. _"You'll have to spread a lot more chaos if you want to see me."_

"Then we will simply start the war between Hyrule and Nippon," Yami suggested. "Will that be enough for you to reveal your true self?"

_"Maybe, maybe not,"_ the voice replied with a laugh. _"All my other little plots are still in motion. Once they're all done, whether they succeed or not, and once we're done here, only then will I show myself. Won't that just be marvelous?"_ The voice faded away before either overlord could reply.

"I don't trust him," Ganondorf stated with a sneer.

"Neither do I, Ganon," Yami admitted somewhat grudgingly, "but he did revive us. We owe him for this new opportunity."

"I suppose you're right," Ganondorf agreed, his sneer slowly disappearing, being replaced by a sadistic grin. "Regardless, I'm looking forward to ruling Hyrule. And you are just as eager to conquer Nippon, I presume?"

"Of course," Yami said coldly. "The darkness cannot be stopped."


	13. Chapter 13

Zelda had allowed Link, Amaterasu, and Issun to stay at the castle for the night. The trio was more than grateful to the young queen, but none of them could really get to sleep very easily; they had all been too unnerved by last night's conversation. If there was somebody behind the scenes – someone powerful enough to manipulate two of the most evil beings in the world – then they had a serious problem on their hands.

Soon, morning poured in through the windows, waking them all one by one. Zelda was the first one up, and had told Link when he awoke that she was going to collect something that he and Ammy might need. Link told this to Amaterasu and Issun, who both woke up a few minutes after the queen left the room.

"What is she getting?" Ammy inquired curiously.

"I don't know," Link answered, "but if she says that it's useful, it probably is."

"It better be!" Issun complained. "Ammy carries around enough useless junk already."

"It's not junk! It's treasure! And besides, I always sell it in the end, don't I?"

That was about when Zelda entered the room again, a small chest in her hands. "Link, Amaterasu, here is the item that should help you in your quest. You will have to be very careful with it. I'm unsure if it's truly ready to be brought along on a mission of this level of importance, but this is a grave situation that demands every possible advantage that we can muster."

Link nodded his understanding and accepted the chest. He opened it carefully, and his eyes widened at its contents. "That's the Shadow Crystal!" he shouted.

Zelda nodded. "Midna gave it to me before she left. She said that she believed that it may someday come in handy. I've been casting spells on it to make it less volatile, but it may still be dangerous."

"Wait a minute!" Issun piped in. "You're going to give us this thing? I don't trust it! It's giving me the creeps just to look at it."

"And can feel some kind of dark power coming off of it," Amaterasu pointed out. "I know I should trust your judgment, Your Highness, but I've never had positive experiences when it comes to dark magic."

"I understand, but you must realize that dark magic on its own is not evil. It is how it is used that makes one believe that it is. This crystal was created by an enemy of ours, but was repurposed by Midna, a trusted friend. It may not be the safest thing in the world, but it could prove an invaluable asset."

"Zelda's right, Ammy," Link said as he set the box down on a table. "It'll definitely come in handy, especially if we need to track someone or something down."

"How's that?" the sun goddess asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's the thing that can turn me into a wolf. I could use the senses of a wolf to make certain things easier on us."

"Wait. It can turn you into a wolf? Do you think it could do the same thing for me?" There was a little hope in Amaterasu's eyes. She might just be able to return to her original form after all!

"Maybe," Link said as he picked up the crystal, the Triforce symbol on his hand glowing to protect him from the stone's magic. He stored it in his bottomless pouch and turned to Zelda. "Thank you, Zelda. Do you know of a path that we can take that'll get us out of here discretely?"

"Of course I do," the queen replied. She approached her fireplace, which was unlit, and move the firewood out of the way. She then pulled up a hatch, revealing a ladder that went down into the castle's bowels. "This is an old secret passage used as an escape route by the Royal Family in times of crisis. It leads to a cave outside of Castle Town. The guards won't think to look for you in here."

Link and Ammy both nodded gratefully, the green-clad Hylian taking out his lantern again and hooking it to his belt. "I'll go in first," Link stated as he began to descend the ladder.

Amaterasu nodded to Zelda one last time. "Thank you, Your Highness. I'm very grateful for your help."

Zelda chuckled lightly. "It's no trouble. And please, call me Zelda. You may not believe it, but I actually prefer to be called by my name rather than my title. If anything, I should be the one showing you the utmost respect, seeing as how you're a goddess and all." She then gave a curt bow. "I wish you luck in your travels." Amaterasu nodded, and was about to leave. "One more thing."

"Yes?" Ammy asked with a curious glance.

"I've noticed how you've been looking at Link," Zelda stated. Amaterasu immediately blushed, knowing exactly what the young royal was talking about. "I can tell that you seem to have developed feelings for him. I should probably tell you that he already has a girlfriend."

"Really?"

"Yes. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't tell him how you feel. He's not the type of man to turn away from any of his friends, so he won't think any less of you. Besides, one regret can lead to a ruined lifetime."

Amaterasu stared at Zelda in awe. She was clearly wise beyond her years. The sun goddess nodded her understanding. "Thank you, Zelda. You've been more than helpful." She then climbed down the ladder and followed Link through the long, darkness-consumed tunnel.

-o-

A rock lifted up off the ground, revealing a locking mechanism on the stone's underside. A head with a green cap rose out of the hole underneath. Link quickly climbed up out of the manhole, then reached down to help Amaterasu out. The goddess thanked him as he closed the disguised hatch again, and an audible _clank_ was heard, ensuring that the hatch had automatically locked itself back up.

Link stood and said, "The next place we should head is Ordon Village, my hometown. Most of my gear is there. Besides, I need to make sure that my friends know that I'm no criminal."

"I understand, Link," Ammy said with a nod as Link reached into his pouch, his Triforce glowing brightly. "Are you getting that crystal?"

"Yeah. It'll be the most discrete way of getting to the village. Nobody will really pay attention to a wolf or two running through Hyrule Field."

"Do you think it'll work? On me, I mean?"

"Maybe," Link replied as he held up the Shadow Crystal. "All you have to do is touch it." Ammy nodded and did just that. Suddenly, she felt herself enshrouded by shadow magic. She collapsed onto all fours, and soon, the shadowy aura was gone. She looked at herself, and was overjoyed to find that she once again had paws instead of hands.

Link watched as Amaterasu jumped around gleefully in her wolf form, her tail dangerously close to breaking off from wagging so much. She had become a white wolf with strange red markings on her fur, with a flaming disk hovering just over her back. She barked happily at him, possibly a thank you.

"Man, I haven't seen Ammy this happy in a long time!" Issun pointed out from atop the sun goddess's head. "What about you, blue-eyes? You gonna do the same?"

"Yeah," the young hero said as his mark slowly became dimmer. "It's just been a while since I've done this." When his Triforce mark vanished completely, he was enveloped in the Shadow Crystal's magic. He dropped down to all fours, and the shadows soon receded to reveal a wolf with black fur on most of his body, with white fur on his belly, lower jaw, and paws. The hair around his neck was much thicker than Ammy's, and had a very slight green tint to it. He retained his cool blue eyes.

"Wow, Link," Amaterasu said with some surprise. "You look… strong."

"Er… thanks," Link replied. He was about two inches taller than Ammy, and had more pronounced muscles. "I spent most of my life as a ranch hand back in Ordon."

"Whoa, wait!" Issun shouted, easily catching Amaterasu and Link's attention. "Ammy, I can understand you now! I couldn't understand you before."

"Ganondorf's curse might still be in effect to some degree," Link theorized. He shook his head and stretched his legs, as well as unintentionally stretching his tail. It had been some time since he last turned into a wolf. There was never really any need for it until now. "In any case, we should get moving. We've got quite a walk ahead of us, and I want to get there by tomorrow morning."

Ammy nodded her agreement. When Link was ready, he dashed off, and the sun goddess followed him.

-o-

Zelda looked out her large window, just managing to catch sight of Link in his wolf form running south with a white wolf that she assumed must have been Amaterasu. She prayed for their safety before leaving her bedchamber and heading for the throne room. She had many royal duties to attend to.

As the young queen made her way through the expansive halls of Hyrule Castle, she slowly began to get the feeling that someone was watching her. She stopped and turned around, her eyes scanning the room for any living thing. She sighed when she saw nothing. "Just nerves," she guessed.

"Oh, how rude," said a voice that sounded eerily similar to Link's. Zelda turned again, her eyes wide with surprise. "You think that I was caused by 'just nerves?' Now that's just hurtful." The queen narrowed her eyes suspiciously. That voice sounded an awful lot like Link's, but it was slightly distorted, almost as though it was echoing on itself.

"Show yourself, stranger," she demanded with a serious expression.

"Bossy, bossy," said a young woman's voice. This one sounded like Amaterasu, but with the same effect as the Link voice. "People like you are so annoying. Why can't we just kill her, like we did with those three people before the goody-goodies showed up?"

"Because Ganondorf and Yami said not to," the Link voice replied. The Amaterasu voice groaned in complaint. "I know it's a pain, but what can we do? They're our bosses after all." Zelda's eyes widened at this. They were working for the enemy? And from what the woman's voice had said, they were the ones who murdered those people and framed Link and Amaterasu!

"Who are you people?" she asked in a severe tone. There were a few moments when both voices were just chuckling, as if they had just heard a joke. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing really," the male voice replied. Zelda noticed something out of the corner of her eye. The shadow of a suit of armor seemed to quiver. A human form slowly rise out of it, revealing a man who looked disturbingly similar and dissimilar to Link. Rather than green, he wore a jet black tunic and had silver hair. His eyes burned red with malice. His most disturbing trait, however, was the fact that he had the complexion of a three-day-old corpse. "I was just imagining the look on your face when you saw me and my partner."

Zelda suddenly felt cold steel at her throat. She looked down slightly to see a knife of eastern design being held next to her jugular. "Don't move, queenie," the woman's voice spoke from behind. "It could prove very disadvantageous for you."

Zelda returned her attention to the Link look-alike. "I've read about you," she said with narrowed eyes. "The accursed shadow forever doomed to live in the wake of the Chosen Hero. You've faced countless numbers of Hyrule's greatest heroes, easily becoming the most dangerous opponent to any warrior in the world. You must be Dark Link."

Dark Link gave a slow, mocking clap. "Give the lady a medal. No duh, genius."

"Don't you have a name for little old me?" the woman behind her said in a sultry voice. She leaned in so that Zelda could see her a little more clearly. The woman resembled Amaterasu tremendously, but had black hair with blue line running through it. Her eyes were a savage red rather than Amaterasu's gentle shade of yellow. Like Dark Link, she had deathly pale skin.

The queen's eyes widened in recognition. "Wait. You're the messenger from Nippon."

"Point for the professor," the evil Amaterasu said with a grin. "But can you guess my name?"

"All I can think to call you is Dark Amaterasu."

The woman frowned. "Figures. What a boring name to go by. My name is Tsukuyomi, little miss brainpower. Remember it. Oh, and goodnight." Before the queen could ask what she meant, she suddenly felt heavy pressure on the back of her neck. The last thing she could remember seeing was Dark Link's sadistic grin before blacking out completely.


	14. Chapter 14

Faron Woods was just as peaceful as Link had remembered. Birds chirped their tranquil songs as squirrels scampered around on the trees and ground. It eased his nerves to know that some things never change. He and Amaterasu, still in their lupine forms, had just reached the forest and headed past Coro the lantern salesman's shop. The salesman smiled and waved to the two wolves with that always-friendly demeanor of his.

Soon, they arrived at the Faron Spring, where a small flock of fairies was gathered. The little pink lights immediately approached them, all of them chittering in what must've been the language of their kind. Link already knew for a fact that they knew who and what he really was. Magical creatures tended to have that kind of info.

"What are these things?" Ammy asked as one of the fairies landed on her head, taking a seat next to Issun, who just stared at the female sprite with a blush.

"They're fairies," Link explained. "They're harmless unless you anger a whole swarm of them. But they usually help you if you can catch them."

"They help people that catch them?" Issun inquired in a slightly confused tone. "That's kind of weird. Why would they help someone who kidnapped them?"

Link shrugged in response. "I have no idea, but you wouldn't believe how many times the little things helped me out."

The fairies seemed to chirp in agreement as Link and Amaterasu left the spring. One curious fairy followed them, apparently wanting to know about the two foreigners. None of them seemed to notice as they went further down the path. They soon crossed a rope bridge that led them to the Ordona Spring, where Link recommended that they take a brief rest after having traveled nonstop from Castle Town.

They rested on the sandy area where the divine spring water met dry land. Link leaned his head forward and drank down a few gulps of the shining water. Amaterasu did the same, and immediately felt somehow reenergized, as if she had just eaten a supercharged Holy Bone. It felt simply amazing.

"This stuff is just wonderful," she said with a lupine smile. "What kind of water is it?"

"It's enchanted by the local Light Spirit Ordona," Link said in an explanatory fashion. "This place has great significance to the people of this province, just like the other springs in their own respective areas. They act as guardians for their respective lands."

Amaterasu nodded her understanding of the explanation. She couldn't help but immediately compare the Light Spirits to the Celestial Brush Gods of Nippon. She looked up at the sky, which being granted an orange glow by the setting sun. She suddenly felt a tug in her stomach, and sighed.

"Something wrong?" Link asked.

"Nothing really," Ammy replied. "Just homesick I guess." She looked at the gradually fading light. "The sunset always makes me feel so sad and nervous. I figure it's just because I'm the sun goddess."

Link raised an eyebrow at the goddess. "You're not the only one who feels that way. Ever since I ended my first adventure, sunsets always made me feel melancholy. It always reminded me of a friend who I'll never get to see again."

"Oh. I'm sorry if I brought up any bad memories, Link."

"It's all right. I like remembering things, even if it's not always a happy event."

Ammy stared at Link with a warm look in her eyes. She had to admit that she admired him… for a number of reasons. She looked back up at the sky, her yellow orbs becoming sad again. She then began closed her eyes and laid her head down, letting sleep take over.

Link watched as Ammy quickly and easily fell asleep, her body leaning slightly towards his. He smiled a little at her unconscious actions. "She looks so peaceful," he said as he laid his own head down.

"Guess we're going to sleep," Issun stated as he got himself into a comfy position on Amaterasu's head. "Goodnight, blue-eyes."

"Yeah. Goodnight." Link then closed his eyes, falling asleep shortly afterwards.

-o-

_She was surrounded by darkness, completely away from her comfort zone. Amaterasu looked down at her body and saw that she was once again in her human form. She sighed dejectedly. She felt out of place in this form._

_"Amaterasu," said a calm woman's voice. Amaterasu turned to see a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties standing before her. She had long blue hair and wore a flowing white gown. Her eyes were an unnatural shade of blue. "Please allow me to be the first of my sisters and I to greet you. We have long awaited the day when you would arrive to this kingdom."_

_"And who are you exactly?" Ammy inquired._

_"I am Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom," the woman replied in a serene voice. "You should be warned that you will soon be faced with a mighty foe who threatens this entire world."_

_"I kind of already know that," the Nipponese goddess deadpanned. "Ganondorf and Yami are going to be dangerous enemies. Link and I will stop them."_

_Nayru shook her head, making Amaterasu give a look of confusion. "You face more than just those two lackeys."_

_"'Lackeys'?"_

_"They serve a greater evil, one that threatens our entire universe."_

_"What?" Ammy was genuinely confused now._

_"This great evil that stands in your path is an entity as old as time itself, older than even all the gods of the world combined. Your true enemy's name is Isfet."_

-o-

**Okay, short chapter. I was tired while writing this, so please don't complain.**


	15. Chapter 15

**(author hides behind steel-enforced bulletproof glass guarded by cyborg wolves, eagle-winged tigers, robot bears with mini-guns for arms, and a six-foot-tall dragon-winged, fire-breathing werewolf) Hey, everyone. Sorry I took so long to update ANYTHING. I got pretty bad case of writer's block... and laziness. I worked pretty hard on this chapter, so I hope you can all forgive me. Enjoy!**

-o-

Ilia sighed as she sat on the edge of her bed. Link had been gone for almost a week. He had said that he was going to a foreign country, but had promised that he would come back as soon as he could. Did he get caught up in something? Was he pulled into another crazy adventure of some sort? It wouldn't really be all that surprising to her. He could never turn his back on a problem that demanded rectification. That was one of the reasons she loved him: his sense of responsibility always had him doing the right thing and helping others, even complete strangers.

"Where are you, Link?" she asked aloud.

Just then, there was a loud knock at the door. Her father was out at the moment, so she got up and went downstairs to see who it was. There was another knock when she arrived at the first floor of her house. She opened the door to see a trio of Hylian Knights, each armed with a spear.

"Excuse us, miss," the middle one said in a gruff tone. "We're looking for Link of Ordona Province. We understand that you're rather close to him."

"Yes, I am," Ilia replied with a curious look. "Is there something wrong?"

"Link was witnessed with an accomplice. He and his partner killed three people."

"Wh-what?"

"They murdered two civilians and killed a guard that tried to intervene before fleeing the scene," the knight explained. "I'm very sorry, but if you happen to see Link, then please, you must turn him in."

Ilia just stared wide-eyed at the knights. Was what they were saying true? No, there must've been some sort of mistake! She couldn't believe that Link would hurt innocent people, let alone murder someone! Still… "I-I understand."

"Thank you, ma'am," the guard said with an appreciative nod. "Now, we have to get going, but until the felons are apprehended, guards will be stationed at the village's entrance. Have a nice day." That said, the guards left her to her thoughts.

There must've been some kind of mistake, right? Link would never hurt anyone without good reason. There must've been some impostor putting the blame on her boyfriend! She had to find him and try to figure this out. And she had a feeling that she knew where to look.

-o-

Link awoke to the sound of birds singing gently and the spring's water quietly washing the shore. He could feel warmth on his left side. He looked to see that Amaterasu had pressed herself up against his body in her sleep. Thinking nothing of it, he silently rose, took a few steps away, and stretched out his stiff, lupine muscles. Being a wolf sometimes required these morning exercises. He was just letting out a yawn when a little pink light landed on the tip of his snout.

He saw that the creature was a small very, and that it was actually smaller than the ones that he had seen. She sat on his nose with a visible grin and a curious stare. "Um… Hi," he said.

"Hello!" the fairy replied cheerfully. She flew off of his nose and hovered in front of him. "My name's Sprite! And you're Link, right?"

"Yeah. How did you know that?"

"Fairies like to gossip a lot. You're pretty well-known among my people, and when I saw the other day, I decided to follow and your friend over there." She pointed to Amaterasu, who looked like she was just waking up.

The white wolf stretched and yawned with Issun bouncing on her head. She looked up at the sky with a wolfish grin. She really did love mornings. They were always so peaceful. She looked around until she found Link, who had a fairy floating next to him. "Good morning, Link," she said.

"Morning," Link replied. "We'll be making our way to the village today, so we're going to have to go into our human forms."

"What? Why?"

"The people of Hyrule aren't particularly fond of wolves. We have tons of stories about wolves attacking and killing people. In fact, predatory animals are rarely seen as a good thing around here. The villagers might panic if a pair of wolves just waltzed right into their town."

"Oh," Ammy replied with a depressed sigh. She should've figured that returning to normal wouldn't last her very long. "Well, how are we going to change back?"

Link shrugged. "I usually just concentrate on my human form for a few seconds, and then poof." As if to demonstrate, he closed his eyes, and a few seconds later, he was surrounded in a shadowy aura, which exploded away from his body to reveal his original human form. "Now you try."

With another sigh, Amaterasu closed her eyes and focused on the image of her human form. After a few moments, she could already feel her body changing relatively quickly. When she opened her eyes again, she looked to see that she had reverted to her human form. "I hate this body. I'm still not quite used to its… added parts."

"Look on the bright side," Link replied. "You won't be called a monster by the villagers at least. Trust me, that can be very damaging to one's self-esteem."

"Okay, okay," Ammy replied. She stared at the little fairy that was hovering next to Link. "By the way, why do you have a fairy with you? Did you catch it or something?"

"No." Link turned to the fairy. "Why are you here?"

Sprite the fairy shrugged her tiny shoulders. "I got bored at the spring, and I heard that you go on a lot of fun adventures. I just thought I'd tag along with you so that I could get some excitement!"

"I'd be willing to welcome her!" shouted Issun from Amaterasu's shoulder. "Name's Issun, the Wandering Artist of Nippon! Nice to meet you!"

"Hi! I'm Sprite! It's a pleasure!"

Issun let out a quiet, perverted chuckle. "Heh, it sure will be," he whispered.

"You say something, Issun?" Ammy said in a warning tone. The Poncle froze at the thought of what happened when he had taken a nap in her clothes. Hearing no response, the sun goddess nodded. "That's what I thought." She turned back to Link. "Should we get going now?"

"Yeah. My house is the first one we'll see in the village. Follow me." The goddess nodded and followed the Hylian out of the spring, their new companion Sprite sticking close to the Hero of Twilight. They made their way down the path leading to Ordon. It was quiet and serene, with birds tweeting and squirrels hopping from tree to tree. Eventually, however, that peace was interrupted.

"Halt!" called a man's voice. Link turned and cursed when he saw a group of guards heading for him and Ammy, each brandishing a long spear. He grabbed the goddess's hand and pulled her after him as they both began to run. They sprinted through the woods, the guards hot on their trail.

"Ammy!" Link shouted. "Do you think you can do something to stop them, or at the very least slow them down?"

The goddess thought for a moment. "Yeah, I think I have an idea! You'll have to keep hold of me though!" Link nodded as Amaterasu concentrated, then flicked her hand through the air twice, creating a pair of horizontal lines. "Kasugami! Veil of Mist!" A deep fog began to fall around them, and time seemed to slow down. The guards' approach slowed to a crawl as the two heroes and their tiny followers made their escape.

-o-

Ilia was on her way to Link's house, where she would start looking for him. If he did come back to Hyrule, she would want to rule out the more obvious places for him to hide from the guards. She didn't believe that he was a murderer of course. She was more worried about this "accomplice" that the guards had mentioned. Was this person responsible for whatever happened? Could they be the threat that Link had mentioned when he told her that he had to leave? She sighed. "What am I going to do?" she asked to no one in particular.

She finally made it to Link's yard, where, out of nowhere, a body collided with hers, sending her sprawling to the ground. She groaned as she sat up, holding her head in pain. She looked over at the person that had run into her. She immediately broke into a huge grin. "Link!" she shouted as she gave the green-clad boy a bone-crushing hug.

"Ilia…" Link replied. "Can't… breathe…"

"Oh! Sorry about that!" Ilia let him go, and only just noticed the young woman wearing a strange red and white outfit standing behind him behind him. She didn't look much older than Link himself. "Link, who is that?"

"Introductions later!" the young hero said. "We need to hide out somewhere!"

Ilia nodded and motioned for Link and the girl to follow. She led them straight to her house, where she told them to wait in her father's wrestling arena. After they managed to hide themselves, the guards inevitably appeared at her doorstep.

"Ma'am, Link and his accomplice have been spotted in the area," one of them said impatiently. "Have you seen them?"

"Yes," Ilia replied. "I think I saw them heading for the ranch. You may want to hurry." The guards nodded unquestioningly and sprinted off. The green-eyed girl let out a sigh of relief. She towards the direction of the arena and said, "They're gone! You guys can come out now!"

The two heroes came out of the arena, both looking more than a little relieved. "Thanks, Ilia," Link said gratefully. "I owe you one."

The girl crossed her arms and said, "Well, you can pay me back by telling me who your friend is."

"Right," Link replied with a nod. "Ilia, this is Amaterasu. She's from Nippon, a country to the east. Amaterasu, this is my girlfriend Ilia."

"Your girlfriend, huh?" the silver/red-haired girl said with a sly look, though her tone sounded somewhat dejected to Ilia. Still, she extended her hand in greeting. "It's nice to meet you, Ilia. You can just call me 'Ammy' for short if you want. Everyone else does."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Ammy," Ilia greeted, shaking the foreigner's hand. She didn't seem too bad a person actually. _No more jumping to conclusions from now on,_ she chided herself.

-o-

Ninetails sat cross-legged on a ledge that overlooked the tiny village that the Hyrulians called "Ordon." He sipped from a sake cup as he eyed the quaint little town. He was eager to get started, but had to wait for _those two_. If it wasn't for Lord Yami's orders, he would've laid waste to this quiet patch of land already.

Soon, that repugnant scent of death touched his nose. That was one of the many reasons that he hated these newcomers. They reeked like living corpses to him. His many tails swished back and forth in agitation as a pair of unnatural shadows approached him from either side.

"It's about time you two got here," he said angrily.

"Sorry about that," Dark Link said with mischievous grin as he rose from his own shadow. "The bosses called, and we had to answer."

"Don't be so serious, foxy," Tsukuyomi said as she slung her arm around the demon's shoulders, a mocking look evident in her features. "At least we get to burn Dark's twin's little hometown to the ground. You can look forward to that, right?"

Ninetails mulled it over, and soon smirked. "I suppose so. It should be an excellent way to the afternoon." His tails swished around behind him again, this time with anticipation it had been while since he last annihilated a town full of people. This should prove to be very entertaining for him.

-o-

**All right, longer than last time. See ya later!**


End file.
